Regain, Revenge, Reconcile
by Colleentj
Summary: DISCONTINUED. A mysterious mirror turns Link into Dark Link. Zelda accompanies him on a desperate quest to regain his lost memories and his true form. Malon and Mido team up to save them. But everybody is hiding a secret, and Link's is the worst.
1. Transformed

**So... after spending the weekend with Molly, I decided that I wanted to attempt at a Dark Link fanfic... so I wrote a one-shot. But I've now decided that I want to change that splendid, angsty one-shot into an even more splendid, angsty fanfiction! Soo... I took the one shot and added a heck of a lot to the end to turn it into a FULL, BLOWN OUT CHAPTER. **

**ANYWAY... don't be surprised if the chapters are a bit short- I wrote this old fanfiction with really long chapters, and it got annoying, so I stopped writing it... so, the chapters won't be SHORT, but they won't be LONG. **

**And, yes, Ms. Indecisive, I've changed Dark Link's white hair to black. Are you happy?**

**And, uh, if it's not to much to ask, could you please review?! I'd like to know what kind of zest it needs... or un-zest, whatever...**

* * *

He stared into the mirror, every line of the face he knew so well etched into the glass, but reversed. He brought his right hand up to touch it- and right where it hit, the hand on the other side came up to meet it, but it was different. The Master Sword fell from his hand and clattered to the ground, where it remained. His every being was indifferent- he felt the need to relinquish- this moment, everything in it- the green tunic reflected as a black one, the blond hair shown to be shadowy, and the blue eyes red- he couldn't help but gaze back into the face that he knew was his own.

His every fear was turned alive- the fear of fear, the fear of sin- he would have backed away but for the urge to remain stationary. The Triforce faded from the back of his hand, and from inside the mirror the black hand suddenly reached out and grasped his wrist- he was pulled mercilessly into the mirror, and the Hero of Time surrendered and subdued to the power- his unbalanced core raged inside of him. All courage gone, all hope lost- anger wove through him, and slowly he changed… the pain was unbearably real, and his tunic, no longer green, but a shade near that of the midnight sky, stuck to his back with sweat. Tears of pain rolled down his face and fell into the abyss below. But the abyss wasn't below him, for it was above him, and around him… he _was _the abyss, and there was nothing now that would change that…

The very center of his being changed, and from that moment he was his own rival- he had no shadow, for he was his shadow- he didn't belong in the light world, nor did he belong in the dark one- he belonged nowhere. No longer did he exist.

If only he could die…

But before death could take him, he was thrust out of the mirror and landed on the cold, stone floor of the ruined temple. His breathing was shallow, his mind out of control- anger and depression- that was all he felt. Hatred bled through him- the only blood he had, now. He was nothing, and he was everything- he was an illusion to himself, and a horror to others.

He was Dark Link. He was a shadow.

…Who had done this to him?

Slowly, Link pushed himself up from the ground- but he _wasn't _Link, anymore, was he? He was Dark Link, the shadow of himself. With intensifying effort, he crawled over to the master sword and reached out one dark hand to pick it up. As soon as his hand touched the hilt, however, a searing pain shot through his very veins. Anger met him again. Anger, hatred, malice- all of the things he had never before felt. Now, it was the only thing that connected him to mortality. So, he couldn't touch the Master Sword. It would have to stay in the chamber.

But that was exactly it, wasn't it? Where was he? He was on the floor in the ruins of an old temple, the night sky above shining down upon him. The Blade of Evil's Bane sat on his left, and to his right was a black mirror with a dark, swirling interior. He had looked into the mirror out of temptation and seen the dark version of himself, and then he had _become _exactly that.

Why had he come here?

That was a better question- why had he come to the mirror. He could remember very little- it was all faded out, blank, blurry. He sank back to the ground, closing his scarlet eyes. _Dark… angry…_

And suddenly, as though somebody other than him had suggested it, he knew that he had to track down whoever had started this. He had to find the person who had sent him here and turned him into darkness. He had to rid himself of the shadow and become who had had been before- but to do that, he'd have to regain his memories.

But it was all so hard…

It would be so much easier if he just stayed this way.

No!!  
He forgot about everything else- _Revenge_ was the only way to fix this.

But another side, a more distant side, said: _Regain…_

Revenge or Regain? Which one?

_Both…_

He had to regain his memories, and get revenge on his enemy—who was his enemy, again?—and he needed to turn back into his former self—the man in the green tunic, with the Master Sword and the Triforce.

_Regain, Revenge, Reconcile._

Slowly, he turned to face the mirror once more- and gasped. The mirror had cracked- right through it was a large, deep cut in the shape of an X. In several seconds, the crack had grown bigger until the entire mirror shattered into millions of shards and fell clattering to the ground at Link's feet. His dark, shadowy, black boots that had once been dusty and brown… he sighed.

He didn't know where to begin…

He didn't know how to become himself again…

And if this mirror was cracked and destroyed, then surely he couldn't use it to change back.

He fell to his knees and kneeled for several moments. Anger, hate, exhaustion, pain, interior war… all of the things he was feeling rushed to his head, and in that moment he let out an unearthly scream that erupted around the chamber- a scream that may have been heard from miles away.

"CURSE THIS LAND!" he screamed. "CURSE MY SOUL!!"

And with these words, he gave in at last and collapsed to the ground.

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**TA DAA!!!! Oh, it's... not as beautiful as it could be. Well, onto chapter two!!**


	2. Runaway

**Look! It's** **chapter two! Down there! It's SHINY! You should read it! O.o**

* * *

He didn't know how he'd managed it, but somehow Dark Link had found his way from the chamber and back to Hyrule. He could remember it, but just barely- it was like everything else he still knew. He could only navigate Hyrule when he was focused on something else, which was good for him, because he certainly had a lot to ponder.

Eventually, after leaving the mirror, he'd found himself in an area he recognized- the Lost Woods. This wasn't really a help to knowing where the Mirror was, though, because he knew that the Lost Woods had paths leading all over Hyrule.

He'd gone through the Lost Woods, and eventually entered a tunnel that brought him to Lake Hylia. Morning was coming- the sun would rise soon, and anybody standing on the platform in the middle of the lake with the single bare tree would have the best view of the sunrise in all of Hyrule.

Nobody was standing there, now, though- nobody but Dark Link. He sat on the pedestal with the Triforce on it, trying to remember things from his past life.

He sat there until the sun was well in the sky, and he managed to rack his brains for memories- only four people came to mind, though. He could only remember four people.

One- Ganondorf. His enemy. The one who'd stolen the Triforce, and then been destroyed by the Hero of Time and the Leader of the Sages.

Two- Princess Zelda. The Leader of the Sages and the heir to the Throne of Hyrule.

Three- Saria. The Sage of Forest, and nearly his only friend when he was unpopular amongst the kokiri.

Four- he didn't quite know why he remembered this one- Talon. The heavy, lazy man who ran Lon-Lon Ranch in Hyrule Field. He knew there was something else he was forgetting about Lon-Lon Ranch, but it didn't come to mind.

He remembered most of the areas in Hyrule- he just couldn't think of how to get to them.

He remembered somewhat what his past was- he'd been orphaned, left in Kokiri Forest, and sent out on a quest to spite Ganondorf… something about sages, too, but he couldn't remember all of it.

And that was what he remembered.

He bent forward and stared at his reflection in the glassy pool of water that was Lake Hylia. It was so dark… it was the second time that he'd seen himself this way, but this time, he knew, it wasn't a reversed reflection—this was how he really appeared to everybody's eyes. He brushed his hand through the water, and sighed at the way that no ripples appeared when he touched it- the water remained the way it would have if he'd left it there. He tried again, this time concentrating, trying to force himself and the world around him to be on the same frequency.

This time it worked- little waves appeared and brushed off in the opposite direction.

So if he wanted to, he thought, he could affect the world. And that meant he would be able to get revenge after all.

He sat back again, and sighed. Being dark sucked.

*~*~*

Princess Zelda had been enjoying an average, sunny afternoon outdoors, practicing archery, when suddenly as she was releasing an arrow, pain shot through her body. She crumpled over in surprise, and the arrow flew crookedly over the wall and out of sight of the courtyard.

When the pain had gone, she saw a vivid image in her head- Link, walking into flames where the Triforce of Courage burned. Slowly, the Triforce disappeared, and only Link's shadow walked out, leaving his body behind him.

Once the image had subsided, Zelda stood up, her entire body shaking. Her bow fell to the ground by her feet.

In moments, Impa was beside her, helping her to sit down.

"What happened?!" she asked the bewildered princess.

"I- stomachache," she lied. Was Link dead?

"Are you sure?" she tried to see into Zelda's mind, but the Princess kept it well protected.

"I'm fine now, thank you," she said, and stood back up.

"Would you like to continue shooting?" asked Impa.

"No," said Zelda, "I think I'll just lie down."

"What do you mean?" asked Impa. "Didn't you just say you're feeling better?"

"I'm tired," Zelda said, "Now stop asking me questions."

"Of course, Your Highness."

At seventeen, Zelda had matured enough to not keep secrets. Impa, however, could tell that she was hiding something. She'd leave her be, she decided.

Zelda knew that she had to do something for Link, but he seemed beyond aid- she knew he wasn't dead. He _couldn't _be dead. So why did she feel so alone all of a sudden? Was it because both pieces of the Triforce but hers were gone? It could be…

She felt sick thinking about it.

Something had to be done.

"I'll find him," she told herself once she'd reached her room. "I'll find him, and if he's hurt, and not dead, I'll help him." _Because I love him, _she thought, even though she didn't know whether it was true or not.

She changed from her royal robes into a maroon dress and white leggings.

_I'll save him, _she thought as she laced up black boots.

_He'll survive, _she told herself as she hid the bottom of her face in a golden scarf.

_We'll prevail, _she convinced her mind to say over and over as she braided her long golden hair back and fixed a circlet of braided gold around her head.

She strapped a dagger to each of her arms, slung a bow across her back, slid a long scythe into a scabbard at her waste, and when the darkness of midnight had come, she prepared to sneak away from the castle.

"Going somewhere?"

Zelda whirled around. There stood Impa, Dark against the pale moonlight coming in the window.

"Impa."

"What happened today, Zelda?" She asked. "What _really _happened?"

"Such matters shouldn't concern you," said Zelda.

"But they do." She could the Princess by surprise as she invaded her mind. When she withdrew, she looked at Zelda inquisitively. "A prophecy?"

"Aye," the princess muttered, and looked up sheepishly. "Of Link… he walked into flames, and only his shadow walked out. What does it mean?"

"You are good at deciphering prophecies. What do you believe?"

"That…" she began, and her mouth formed into a small O of horror. "…his shadow… Dark Link! He couldn't have turned into him!"

"It would all have made sense to be that way," said Impa. "Was the Triforce in your vision?"

"Yes," she admitted, "it faded while Link was in the flames."

"That is it, then," said Impa. "You know what you must look for."

Zelda furrowed her brow. "You're letting me go?"

"You are too old now for me to tell you what to do. You are seventeen- it is no longer my responsibility. Your heart is in the right place- you know what you must do."

"I must save him," she whispered.

"And you know how to do it?"

"I do," she answered, and backed over to the window, where she climbed out upon the vine and prepared to climb down.

"Good luck."

"I will heed it," she said, and dropped, running out into the shadows of the night.

"I have the feeling I won't see her again for a long time," Impa sighed, and watched the girl that she'd raised since girlhood run off to save a friend.

She'd only had this feeling once before- the other time that Zelda had been seventeen, seven years ago.

* * *

**Now, don't you feel complete as you've finished this MYSTERIOUS and ELEGANT chapter? Lol, I know, it's no good... but I don't really put much thought into my story, I've got a much better one I'm already working on...**

**So... off to type chapter three, I suppose? Hm?**


	3. Of Lost Woods and Lost Friends

**Note: Don't worry, Ms. Indecisive, you'll get your share of Dark Link/Malon for a little bit. But it's not really Dark Link, it's Link, just… he's dark. Oh, and I can't wait to come to Spain.**

**Eclipse Storywriter: (or something like that) I LOVE THAT EPISODE! And the other ones, too… xDD**

**Okay, soo… chapter…. Whatever chapter it is!! (3?!) YEAH that's it…**

**  
Chapter Three…**

The forest seemed to rush by in different colors as Zelda ran with speed that only the sheikah could muster.

Her plan to find Link was to search first through the wide expanses of Kokiri forest. But first, she had to rush through the darkness of the Lost woods, which, even for one as wise as her, were dreadfully confusing.

She eventually found her way to a small clearing, where a young, nervous girl sat on a branch. She had cropped red hair and large blue eyes, and she clicked her heels together with worry. When she noticed that Zelda had joined her in the clearing, she gave a squeal of fright and toppled out of the tree, where Zelda caught her in a timely manner.

"Thank you," she squeaked, and found her balance. Zelda stood up straight to find that she was nearly twice as tall as the child- she couldn't have been over ten.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Me?" she asked, still nervous. "I- I don't know… I mean, B! I'm B, just B! And my sister is somewhere, too, she's Phoebe. Mido asked her to go into the woods and look for something, and she dragged me along! I dunno what he wanted, though."

"Mido, I've heard of him…. B, are you a Kokiri?" asked Zelda.

"Yeah," B replied, and she began to bite her nails.

"What did Mido want you to come into the woods for?"

"I told you already, I dunno. Phoebe does, though."

"Good, let's ask her. Where is she?"

"See, that's the thing," said B. "I dunno where Phoebe went. We both went in different directions, and, I dunno, she just disappeared."

"Oh, no," said Zelda. "I've heard legends about children who get lost in the Kokiri woods, and they aren't too pleasant."

"She ein't dead, is she?"

"No," said Zelda. "At least, I hope not. How long have you been in the forest?"

"Can't tell," B replied. "I've lost track… there ein't day or night in the Lost Woods. Hasn't been too long, though. Probably a day. Why?"

"She may have turned into a stalchild," Zelda replied quietly.

"Aw," said B. "No good."

"You don't sound that upset," said Zelda.

"She wanted to become a stalchild," said B. "Something about loving the night life. If it makes her happy…."

"That's… whatever," said Zelda. "Listen, could you bring me back into the forest? I want to see Mido."

"S-sure."

"Why are you still so nervous?" asked Zelda. "If you're not worried about your sister, what is it?"

"Well… I just… who _are _you?!" cried B.

"Oh, me?" asked Zelda. "I'm… a traveler."

"Ooh, like a gypsy?"

"No, more like a Ranger," Zelda replied. Gypsies were the Gerudo. Hylians had more dignity than that.

"Oh," said B. "Well, that's still cool, I guess." She tucked her hair behind her ears and said, "Well, if it's Mido you want to see, I'll take you straight to him."

"Thank you," said Zelda.

"C'mon."

Ten minutes later, they were walking across the kokiri woods to Mido's house. Zelda was attracting a lot of attention. The kokiri would press together like a garden and peer over each other's hats at the newcomer, and some of the older ones who had seen things like this before would try to usher them off to the side. At one point, a small boy got over excited and ran out, tripping and falling into a puddle.

"Now, don't get your knickers in a knot," said B, shooing the children away. "This here's an important guest of ours. She's a Ranger."

The Ranger remark, however, only got the Kokiri even more excited, and they followed them all of the way through the forest until they reached Mido's house.

B knocked cautiously.

"Whatever is the matter now?!" cried Mido, and he swung open the door. His eyes widened in fear as he saw the powerful new guest, with daggers and swords and who knew what else tied to her belt.

Zelda pulled her scarf more fully over her face and looked inside of the house. Saria was sitting in a chair in the corner, her eyes pink from crying.

The scarf couldn't fool this girl. "P-Princess?" said Saria quietly, standing up.

"Princess?!" cried Mido, who scrambled aside. "Why didn't you say so?! Do come in!!"

B looked confused. "Princess? But… I thought you were a ranger."

"I am a ranger," said Zelda. "Mido, shut the door."

The door was closed in a matter of two seconds, leaving B and the other Kokiri outside. Zelda helped Saria back into her chair, and then pulled off her scarf, kneeling before Saria so that they were the same height.

She smiled warmly. "Saria, I need your help."

"As do I, yours," said Saria. Though she was only a child, her voice was wise and steady. "I don't know why, but I had—"

"—a vision," Zelda finished for Saria, who nodded slowly. "I had one as well. I think, and tell me if you believe otherwise, that Link has transformed into his shadow."

Saria hiccupped and nodded. "I had this vision, where he was swept away by a forest wind, and the Great Deku Tree swallowed him up… and...."

"Only his shadow returned," said Zelda. "I had a similar one."

Saria said nothing, only waited for the Princess to continue.

"I belive," said Zelda, "that you asked Mido to go into the Lost Woods and look for him?"

"No," said Saria. "I was going to go by myself, but Mido said he'd do it for me. Then he chickened out, and sent Phoebe to do it instead."

"Not true!" cried Mido. "I stayed here because you needed me to keep you company, remember?!"

"Whatever," said Saria.

"Well," Zelda said, "B came back, but Phoebe didn't. We think that she may be a stalchild now, or maybe even dead."

"No, I'm not," said a voice, and Zelda turned around to see a child that looked much like B, but older, standing in the doorway, grimacing. "I checked the entire forest, and Link is nowhere to be found."


	4. The Other Malon

**Chapter Four… already… X_X**

**So… whoopdeeheediddle… hrm… **

If there was anything that she could have, anything at all, thought Malon, then she would ask for a nice, beautiful, sunny day where she could sit in the shade of the apple tree and close her eyes, the sun setting a warm glow upon her face and a soft breeze rustling the leaves above her. Then she could hold the book passed down through her family and read the legends of the ancient heroes of old wars in peace, with nobody to stop her ongoing pleasure.

But instead, she was holding a bucket in either hand, her damp shawl wrapped around her shoulders as she crossed the muddy threshold to where the horses stood, milling about. It was cloudy, and fog settled here and there. The wind howled off somewhere in the distance, and every now and then the dark clouds above would rumble dully. It wasn't raining very hard yet, but there was just a slight sprinkle, almost as though Malon was walking through mist.

She sighed, and a cloud of hot air puffed in front of her face, a warm patch of air in the coldness that surrounded it. It evaporated quickly, of course. Overhead, a flock of geese flew by in a V formation, though one side of the V was shorter than the other.

When she reached the fence, she set the buckets down and exhaled deeply. Each bucket was filled with over a gallon of water for the horses- not that they needed it. It was about to rain, anyway, but Ingo was convinced that Malon should be working harder, and had set her to work immediately. It reminded her of something, once… she knew it had never happened, but perhaps her memories of being a slave to Ingo was nothing but a dream…. It was all very foggy, now, anyway. Better not to think about it.

She sat down on a wooden crate and pulled her shawl more tightly about her. Lo!, but it was cold! She drew her knees up to her chest, her damp boots leaving grassy marks on the crate. It was usually never like this- Hyrule Field had always been neutral to weather- it hardly ever rained, so why was there a storm on its way?

Once again, she had a vague memory of a horrible storm reaping Lon Lon Ranch, but it had never _really _happened. At least, she didn't remember it. Almost as if it had been another life….

Ingo appeared from the stables, a pitchfork in one hand and a sack of hay in the other.

"What are you sitting around for?!" he yelled, and spat at Malon. She winced and looked at him. She tried to put in as much hatred and annoyance as she could into that one look, and it must of worked, because he backed away a little.

"Sorry, Miss Malon. My apologies."

"You're not forgiven," Malon muttered under her breath.

"If you'll just help with the horses… they need food, you know."

"Yeah, sure… if you say so, Ingo." She pulled herself down from the crate and strained to pick the buckets back up. As soon as she had them, she began to walk towards the horses, but a sudden chill came over her, and she dropped the buckets, suddenly feeling numb and lightheaded.

She put her hand, chapped from the cold, to her face, and held it there until she could think straight again.

_What was that?_

She turned behind her, and saw Ingo, rigid with fear. He backed away a couple steps, dropped his tools, and sprinted into the farm house, his arms flailing.

Thunder, stronger this time, rumbled. There was a flash of lightning, and, almost as if on cue, there was Link, standing at the entrance to the ranch. But… how had he gotten here so fast? How had she not heard him coming?

Malon waved, but he paid no mind to her presence. She tried to walk over to him, but with immense speed, Link had already entered the farmhouse where Talon always stayed. What was he doing? Feeling hurt, Malon slipped over to the door and pressed her ear against it, listening. Ingo tried to follow, curious, but Malon shook her head and he walked away.

"…if that's really the case… Link, m'boy… Link.…"

Why did Talon sound so shaken?!

"Oh, it's the case. I don't know what to do now."

"Why don't you go to Princess Zelda?"

"I was going to, but they'd never even allow me into the marketplace! Look at me…."

"Go to Malon. She would accompany you."

"Malon…?"

"Yes… my daughter? Malon?"

Link was silent, Malon horrorstruck. Link had forgotten her?! Malon, his best friend?! Forgotten?! In tears, Malon fled from the ranch house and ran all of the way across the lawn. It had really started raining, now, but it didn't matter to her. The water in her hair was no different than the tears sliding down her face. Link! How could he?!

She ran all of the way to the back of the ranch, where a stone building that usually went unnoticed stood. It had been her hiding place as a small child when she'd felt upset. She was sixteen, now. Couldn't she handle herself? No. She ran inside to small stone room and slammed the door behind her. The pounding of the rain became dull and muffled against the stone roof. In here, it was almost silent. It was a sanctuary.

She ducked behind a stack of crates and hugged her knees, trying to shelter herself from the cold. Link had forgotten her. He was no good.

She sat there for about twenty minutes, hiding, until she heard the door open. She shut her eyes, tightly. It was Link- she knew the very way he walked, even though it seemed lighter this time. Still she did not open her eyes.

"Malon."

"Go away. You forgot me. I don't want to even _look _at you."

"No, you don't," he said. "You'd probably flee if you did."

Malon was silent. What? She opened her eyes and, very cautiously, glanced up. And she gasped.

Where Link should have been standing was his very opposite- it was him, all right, but he was _dark. _He was almost like a shadow.

He reached down his hand, and she found it in herself to take it and stand up.

"Why haven't you fled yet?" he asked.

"I… I don't know," whispered Malon. This was very wrong. This was _her _Link. Why was he so dark?!

"I didn't want to forget you," he said. "You're still my best friend. You know that."

Malon knew it, yes, but somehow, Link being a best friend wasn't enough for her. Link knew this, but said nothing. Of _course _he didn't feel the same. Still… didn't she need all of the friends she could get?

"Talon saw you running away," said Link, "and Ingo told us where you had went." He backed away and looked around.

"What happened?" Malon dared to ask, but Link didn't answer right away.

"I don't know any better than you do," he answered. "But I have to set it straight."

"I want to help," said Malon.

"No," said Link. "I'm not putting you or Talon into any more danger."

"But—yes, all right."

"Thank you, Malon," he said. "Some people we just cannot bear to lose." He backed out towards the door.

Just before he went out, Malon threw herself forward and kissed him full on the mouth, holding him so tightly that it took him several seconds to wrestle her off.

Once she had caught her breath, Malon smiled at the bewildered expression on Link's face.

"Sorry," she said. "I've been meaning to do that for a while."

"I know," he said, and left.

She leaned against the wall, bemused. "I'll see him again," she said to herself.

Suddenly, a thunderous noise sounded as the door caved in behind her. Her father ran in, yelling, and after him leapt another figure, who planted themselves upon Talon's shoulders, pulled back his hair, and aimed a dagger at his forehead. Malon pushed the attacker out of the way just in time to save her father, who fell to the ground, unconscious.

The assassin's knife fell to the ground and Malon seized it, aiming it at them, but stopped cold as they saw who it was- they vanished in a puff of smoke immediately after realizing the threat, but whether they were still there or not, Malon could not get their face out of her head-

She had been staring at an exact duplicate of herself.

**Okay, I'll admit, I didn't like this chapter—I like Malon, but I hate writing about her—but the ending was important. So, this poses a new question… who was Malon's duplicate? Why were they trying to get at her father? And why, oh why, did Link somehow still mysteriously remember Talon back at the beginning of the story? Hm? :D "Snake? Get up, Snake!! SNAAAAAAAKE!!!!"**


	5. The Sun Rises

**The Chapter of de number 5!! Are you excited?! I'm not….**

Everybody in the small kokiri home was silent as they looked at Phoebe, waiting for something, for her to way that she was just kidding… so, Link wasn't anywhere in the lost woods. That was it, then- he could be anywhere in Hyrule, stuck in a hole, or fallen down a waterfall, or trapped in Ruto's kitchen… they might never see him again.

Saria and Zelda stood silent, horrorstruck, fear dancing in their eyes.

Mido's face, however, had split into a large grin. "Well, that's just dandy!" he said. "Now that we know, we won't have to risk anything else by going into those nasty woods, will we?"

Saria couldn't take this. She stood up, rigid, and let out a piercing, unearthly scream, which lasted several seconds and then broke into sobs, horrible sobs- tears ran down her face, more tears than any child should ever have to muster. Without warning, she leapt from her chair and tackled Mido, punching him every chance she could get, and every_where _she could get _at_. He squawked just like a chicken with every blow, and it took Zelda and Phoebe combined to finally pull Saria from the poor boy.

Mido stood up, dizzy, and said, "Yeah… I guess I deserved that." He was up for several seconds before Zelda raised a fist of her own and knocked him to the ground, unconscious.

Saria's face was raw and red, and more tears were coming now. She continued to scream, and Zelda was surprised- even she, the Leader of the Sages, had never seen Saria break down like this. Zelda plucked Saria's thin frame from the ground and placed her on the table, embracing her. She really did love the girl, as if she were a sister, and she knew that Link meant more to Saria than he did to anybody else.

Within several minutes, Saria had finally quieted down, and Zelda was sitting beside her, her face in her hands. She wasn't crying, but she felt so empty…. It was just like when her father had died, in her other lifetime.

"What are we going to do?"

It was Saria who spoke, her voice quiet, small, and broken. For once, she sounded just as a child should- depending on an adult to do what a child shouldn't have to.

"I don't know," Zelda finally said. "I… wait, yes I do."

Saria sprang up to both feet, and looked Zelda in the eye. "You do?!"

"I… yes, yes, I do!!" Zelda said, standing up so abruptly that the chair under her tipped over and landed on Mido, who was recovering. He gave a petrified squeak and collapsed a second time, this time groaning so loudly that Zelda knew it would be a good 20 minutes before he tried getting up again.

"You know?" said Saria. "Where do we go, what do we do?"

"First, we need to find Link," said Zelda.

"Right," said Saria. "We find Link."

"We'll need to leave this forest as soon as possible," Zelda said, "but—"

"No way," said Mido from the floor. "No. I won't let you."

Zelda looked down at Mido. So did Saria.

"What do you mean?" asked Saria.

"No," said Mido. He pulled himself up and supported himself on the table. "Saria, it's dangerous outside these woods! If you stay out there too long, you'll die! You're a kokiri!"

Saria growled. "That's a stupid myth, Mido. Why do you believe everything you hear?"

"No," he said. "I mean… not that. It's not that, we all know that that one's untrue. But… you know. It's… dangerous. You're gonna get hurt. You're only a little kid."

"And what?" challenged Saria. "You'd rather go in my stead?"

"No," squeaked Mido.

"I knew it," said Saria. "You're nothing but a big cucco."

Mido cleared this throat. "I mean… I don't think that it would be in my best interest- and I'm speaking for the welfare of the entire Kokiri Forest, here- that we send me, you, or anybody else important to these sacred trees out… out there." He pointed out the door.

"And you think you're going to stop me?!" cried Saria, who was beginning to cry again.

"Saria," said Zelda, "I think that Mido's right?"

Mido looked up quizzically. "I am?" he asked. "I mean… of course I am, Saria!!" he puffed out his chest proudly.

Saria's face was drawn—she was thinking. It took her all of two seconds to come to a decision.

She balled her hand into a fist and punched Mido as hard as she could.

"YOWCH!!" he cried. "Will you _stop doing that_?!"

"No."

"Saria…" said Zelda.

"Princess," said Saria, looking up, "I know that you have a plan of your own, but I'm going to save him, too! I won't let him die! He's… like a brother to me."

Zelda knelt down in front of Saria and placed her hands on her shoulders. "I know you just want to help, but I have another plan for you—I know how to save Link, but you're going to have to listen to me."

Slowly, Saria nodded.

And Zelda told her.

"Oh," said Saria. "Oh, I see."

"Good," said Zelda, smiling and getting to both feet. Saria closed her eyes and backed up a couple of steps. She spread her arms out, and a sudden burst of green light burst out and enclosed her. When the light had subsided, Saria had vanished.

Mido, still on the floor, looked from Zelda to the spot where Saria had last been, his eyes brimming with fear. "What—what did you do to her?!"

"She did that herself," said Zelda. "I just gave her instruction on where to go."

"Will she be coming back?!" cried Mido.

"Of course."

Mido didn't look convinced, but he sighed.

"I suppose you can do as you please. I never understood courage, anyway." He stood up, rubbing his head, and stumbled over to a bench in the corner.

"I think you should lay down, Mido," said Zelda.

"So do I," he replied, but was on the ground again before he was even halfway to his bed. As soon as he had begun to snore, Zelda slipped out of the house as subtly as she had tried to come.

She didn't leave the forest yet- she would wait until morning. But tonight, she sat on the roof of Saria's house and looked up at the stars. Kokiri forest was completely quiet- only the occasional ruffling of grass as an animal ran through, or the upturning of leaves when a breeze swept in.

Eventually, Zelda turned around to find B trekking across the roof to meet her.

"I come here every morning," B whispered. "just to watch the sun rise."

Zelda looked in front of her. "I used to watch the sunrise," she admitted. "But… I don't know what happened."

"You should try it, just once more. It's very beautiful," B suggested.

"Well, I suppose," said Zelda. "Yes, I'll watch the sunrise with you."

And she did.


	6. Innocence Lost

**=D I'm on chapter six?! I know they're short chapters, but… six? Really?! I'm gonna have to make the story interesting, soon, or people will stop reading!! If they haven't already, that is…**

Chapter Six

Link stood in the middle of Hyrule Field. All was silent around him. There was nothing in sight, just the rolling green hills that made up Hyrule field and the shadow of Death Mountain, pale against its starry backdrop.

He stood completely still. It was embarrassing to admit, but ever since he'd transformed, he'd felt secluded from the world around him. He didn't have an effect on his environment—unless Malon's surprise kissing attack was a force of nature, of course—but he had been trying, ever since leaving Lon Lon Ranch, to stand up straight, his arms spread out, and become one with the forces around him.

And it wasn't working.

Eventually, he had to give up. It was useless. Somewhere in the distance, a bird's shadow flew in front of the moon. Link found this irrelevant to the present situation, but as time passed, the bird got closer and closer.

It surprised Link when the bird landed directly in front of him and said, "It's awfully late to be so very far from home, Link."

He backed away, startled, reached for his sword, and then remembered that he didn't have one—he'd been forced to leave it in the chamber, as he couldn't touch it anymore. He was henceforth "impure".

"Who are you?" he asked.

The bird looked offended. "Have you forgotten, friend? It is I, Kaepora Gaebora, the wisest of all birds!"

It took Link a good minute and a half to remember. Finally, he had an image in his head of an owl greeting him every now and then.

…oh yeah!! That bird!!

"I do remember you," he said, finally.

"Good, good," said Kaepora. "I've been searching all over—where have you been, Link?"

Link didn't respond.

"What is this? Why are you in such despair?"

"Look at me!!" he finally cried. "Why do you _think _I'm in despair?!"

The owl looked more closely, and then cried out by giving a bird-call. "I would have noticed earlier, had it been lighter!! So sorry, Link."

"So am I," he said. "I don't want to be like this… what do you want?"

"You've become reasonably darker since we last spoke," the owl said, "But I understand completely."

"No you don't," Link muttered.

"Oh, but I do. It happens to the best of us, Link. We all have to face our dark side in life. It is the only way we will learn. It is a gift of the gods when we go through this—we will come out a changed person."

"Yeah, I feel blessed," Link responded.

"You must have patience," Kaepora said. "It is a virtue."

"Patience is a burden," he responded.

"Sometimes," the owl said, "to face a burden we shall be rewarded."

No response.

"Say," said Kaepora. "Do you still have that old ocarina?"

"No," said Link. "I gave it to Zelda long ago. I don't know where it went to, and I don't care."

"Ah," said Kaepora. "I see…."

"No you don't!!" Link cried. "Stop telling me you understand!! You don't!! Leave me alone!" he turned away from the bird, aggravated.

"Link."

"WHAT?!" he cried, whirling around. The bird was so… tranquil. Why?!

"I think," he said, "That I will be able to help you. I was flying over the Kokiri forest this morning, and… I found something that will be of great use to you."

"What is it?!" cried Link. "Give it to me!!"

"I will go and retrieve it," said Kaepora, "but you must promise me this—henceforth, you shall treat nobody as badly as you treat yourself. I have faith in you, Link—it's time that you did, as well."

With this, the enormous owl lifted himself from the ground and flew off in the distance. With nothing better to do, Link roamed across Hyrule Field and stopped at the edge of Zora's River, staring into the water and not getting a reflection.

"Souless," he muttered to himself. "What else is new?"

***

Zelda was all geared up, fully loaded on weapons, and even a few Deku Nuts were loaded up her sleeve.

She was just saying good bye to B when a shadow passed over her head, releasing a petrified scream from B. She felt rough claws tug at her shoulders, and she was lifted into the air.

She began to scream, but the sound was muffled by the wind that was coming as she accelerated. She didn't know what had hold of her, but she yelled at it anyway.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME?!" she cried.

"Patience, Princess Zelda," was the reply.

***

Link sat by the river some more, and by mid-afternoon, Kaepora's shadow appeared in the distance. He squinted, but couldn't tell what he was seeing. Kaepora was holding something, but it was writhing and screaming. What was it? He stood up and tried to run towards where Kaepora flew- and realized that, trapped in his claws, was Zelda. He was kidnapping her, wasn't he?!

"LET GO OF HER, YOU BASTARD!!" he yelled, and ran as fast as he could, pulling an arrow from his quiver and notching it into his bow. He aimed it straight at the owl's head, but before he could release it, somebody delivered a sharp blow to the back of his head.

He whirled around, stepping on his bow, and found that the attacker was a Hyrulean Soldier.

"Back, fiend!!" the soldier cried. "Come no further towards the gates of Castle Town, or you shall be slain!!"

_Okay, then_, thought Link. _If he wants to play dirty, then we'll play dirty. _He grabbed the soldier's wrist, twisted it, sending him into agony. He pulled the soldier to the side and wrestled him to the ground, pinning him to the grass. He stepped on the soldier's elbow and wrenched the sword from his hand, and quickly ran him through. Two more guards were coming now, but were no match for Link now that he had a blade—he charged forward, got a hold of one man, and impaled his neck with the sword. Then, he lifted him from the ground with his sword, which was still stuck in the man's neck, and slammed him into the other soldier, who was watching in horror. The two soldiers landed on top of each other. The one on the bottom, who was still living, sprang up from the ground and ran as fast as he could back to the market.

"GET BACK HERE, COWARD!!" Link yelled, but the soldier had gotten away. Great. Now there would be posters declaring Link a villain.

He turned around and went to pick up his bow, but swore loudly as he realized that the bow had snapped in half when he'd stepped on it.

Ugh.

When he turned around, he saw that the owl was still in the air, and Zelda was still screaming. Filled with anger, Link picked up the bloodstained sword and hurled it at the owl. For one terrifying moment, it looked like it would hit Zelda. But then, Kaepora swooped down suddenly and caught the blade himself to save the princess. Slowly, he fluttered down to the ground. Zelda landed safely, but….

Kaepora was dead, Link's own blade lodged in his stomach.

Zelda stood up, dizzy, and looked at the owl.

"What on Din's earth…." She looked up and saw a shadow standing hunched, and then at the bodies he was standing over. Those were here own men!!

Slowly, she stumbled over to him. "You… you killed them!!" she said. "You villain!! I'll kill you!" She lunged forward, but with immense speed the shadow turned around and caught her by the arms, restraining her.

And then she saw his face.

Link….

He'd… killed them.

She felt suddenly weak. She'd known that he looked like this, but she'd never expected it to be so horrible when she saw him.

She stumbled backward and reached out, touching his cheek.

A searing pain suddenly shot through her body, and it intensified for every moment she held on. She pulled back very suddenly, and Link's movements displayed that he'd felt the pain as well.

His Triforce Shard was gone, she noticed, and hers was still there. The power that crept through his veins was an evil one, and thus they could not touch.

"Link," she said. "What happened?"

"Don't ask me to explain it," he said, and sat down.

"But… Link, these were innocent men!!"

"They may be innocent, but I am not! I lost it long ago! I'll never be clean."

"No," she said. "No, no!! NO! Link! You're the Hero of Time!! You never would have killed others if this hadn't happened!!" She sank to the ground and pounded her hands on the grass. She felt as if all of her emotions had caved in. "NO!!"

NO!

NO!

NO!!

**_NOTE: _I like notes! They funny! Angsty Link be funny, too!!**

**Ha… it's my longest chapter yet! Not that that's saying anything…**


	7. The Plan

**7! It's a lucky number! 7 7 7 7 7 7 7!!!! Seven sevens! 7!! I hate the number seven… but it's chapter 7!! Voldemort has 7 horcruxes!! Or… DOES he? NO! HE HAS EIGHT!! HARRY IS **spoiler****

…**so… chapter seven, then. Well, here goes nothing:**

Chapter Seven

She pounded her wrists on the ground so hard that they became sore. Tears streamed down her face, and along with her physical pain, her heart hurt. How, _how _had Link become a murderer?! Who would do this?

Well, she knew _who _would do it… but… he was trapped in the Sacred Realm, which meant that a different villain was the source of this.

Finally, Zelda found that it wasn't within her willpower to fight herself anymore, and she sank to the ground, exhausted.

_No, _she thought to herself. _I can't allow myself to give in. _

She pushed herself up and brushed the hair out of her eyes.

"Finished yet?" asked Link. Zelda felt her face grow warm. How embarrassing…

"Link," she said. "Link, do you want to change back?"

"Well," he said, "that's a stupid question." He reached down a gloved hand and helped Zelda to her feet.

"So… so, you do," she said.

"Of course I do. I thought you were smart."

"I am," she said.

"Oh," said Link. "Well then… could you tell me where to start looking?"

"I could tell you," she said. "Or… I could show you. But… I'd have to explain, first."

"Fire away."

"Well," she began, her voice small. "I'd like to… but it's not safe here. I'll bet that more soldiers will be coming soon, and seeing me with you will only create more havoc. We should go somewhere more private."

"Like…?"

"Death Mountain, maybe" she said. "Nobody goes up there."

"Well, duh," said Link. "The place is full of eruptions and falling rocks."

"You've forgotten that it's no longer like that—that was the first time around. There are no more obstacles; it's just too high for anybody to climb."

"Well, that puts Death Mountain out of the question."

"Not necessarily," said Zelda, and pulled from a hidden spot in her sleeve something blue and elliptical.

"How'd you get that?" asked Link in disbelief.

"I stole it," said Zelda.

"Well, congratulations," said Link. "It seems you have learned something from me after all."

"Ah."

"So," said Link. "Are you planning to use the ocarina, or shall I do the honors?"

"I think I can handle it on my own," said Zelda, and moved the instrument to her lips, where she began to play a song that was unfamiliar to Link. It was eerie and slow, and Zelda broke out into sweat as she played it.

Once she had finished, there was a burst of light, the world spun around them, and suddenly they were sitting on the top of Death Mountain, the sun beginning to set in the distance.

"Hey, wait a second," said Link. "It was just afternoon! I swear, it was just afternoon!"

"Yes," said Zelda. "But my method of warping takes us just as long to get somewhere as if we rode at our fastest pace. For us, it's only a minute, but for the outside world, hours have passed since we disappeared… kind of like when you went forward and back in time, way back when."

"So it only saves energy, not time," Link said.

"Precisely."

"Isn't magic supposed to work the other way around?" asked Link. "You know… takes less time, but all of the same energy is used? That's how it worked for me."

"Magic is one of the most difficult and unexplored subjects for a being," said his companion, the princess. "Even the Goddesses do not understand its full power… let's make a camp."

Zelda used her power to light a fire that floated just a little above the ground. Link sat in front of it, the violet flames reflecting in his crimson eyes. He crossed his legs and leaned back, his hands behind him.

Zelda sat beside him, and she watched the fire for a little while before Link said, "…so?"

"So," said Zelda. "As you know, you're not the… first hero in Hyrulean history."

"I know," said Link. "There was that Prince Sean guy, and that Reynaldo guy, and that barbarian whose name I can't recall. What of them?"

"Well, they've all faced the same types of problems as you have—every hero has it. It's a time of despair, where the hero doubts himself and finds himself unable to go on. It's… typical. Every hero goes through it."

"So what you're saying is that it's like puberty for the knight in shining armor."

"Sort of," said Zelda. "I guess… if you respect that comparison."

"No, it sounds fun," said Link. "Since I never had the chance to go through it myself."

"What, despair? Or puberty?"

"Both," was the reply.

"_Anyway_," said Zelda, "when the hero had his breakdown, he would always go to his only superior. Take Prince Sean, for example—he went to his mentor. Or the barbarian, who went to his King."

"But," said Link, "I have my doubts that they traded places with their shadow."

"…not necessarily," said Zelda. "Reynaldo did. It was the work of his enemy. Reynaldo was much like you—a retired hero, whose only superiors were—"

"—the ancient sages," Link finished. "I'm familiar with that story, actually. Malon's father was telling me about it, when I spoke to him earlier—he was telling me that I needed to be like Reynaldo."

"So you do know," said Zelda. "Even though you lost your memory."

"Yeah, something like that."

"Anyway, do you remember how the sages helped him?"

"I didn't learn that part," he said.

"He found each of them, and they bestowed upon him their blessing."

"Great," said Link. "But… I don't see any sages."

"That's because they're hidden," said Zelda. "Across Hyrule, they each have one Mirror where they will wait for the Hero. Once you have every blessing, you will be whole again."

"Then what are we sitting around for?!" cried Link.

Zelda frowned. "You need patience, Link. You must be tranquil, or the Mirrors will never appear to you."

"They… come to _me_?"

"No," said Zelda. "You go to them. But you must have patience. Every mirror will have some type of trial surrounding it. They are hidden—forbidden mirrors, in a way."

"Do you know where to find them?"

"I know where two of them are, yes," said Zelda. "The other four we must find on our own."

"And do we need to search for them in a certain order?" asked Link.

"No," said Zelda. "But we'll be going to Saria's mirror first."

"I remember Saria," he said. He laid on his back. "Good night, Zelda."

"Sleep well, Link."

"Don't worry," he replied. "I won't."

**BAAAHH!!! I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN A LONG TIME!! IM SO SORRY!!! Anyway, hope you liked!**


	8. To Save, To Save, To Save

"Ingo, please," Malon begged. "I've seen him, and I've seen other things, and I'm sure he's in danger!"

"No!" retorted Talon's journeyman harshly. "I've no good reason to go and save your sorry friend! His condition is _his _problem, nobody else's!"

"But Ingo," Malon sighed, "you know that my father is much too old to go out and do anything so dangerous, and I know that you can! You're in fine condition—"

"So are you!" scoffed Ingo. "If you want that chum of yours saved, then save him yourself!"

"So be it," whispered Malon, as she watched Ingo turn on the spot and retreat.

~*~

The rest of the afternoon went by without Talon hearing a word from Malon. He knew she was upset, probably off crying in the tool-shed, and wanted her to be left alone. He understood at least what it was like to lose somebody close to you—it had happened to him, the day his wife had died.

He sat down at supper that night to find that Malon had yet to come and make up a hot meal. No matter, though, he could wait.

He was drumming his fingers on the table when Ingo came in through the door, wet from working in the rain. He dried himself and pulled off his boots, and then walked up and through the door to rest.

"Say, Ingo," Talon said, "Have you seen Malon this afternoon?"

Ingo looked nervous.

"Ingo?"

"Yes, Master, I have, in fact."

"Where did she go?"

"I- well- you must understand—"

"Tell me!"

"I admit! I saw her walk into your house through the back door! When she returned, she was fully decked out again in your old flannel hunting shirt and a pair of trousers, her hair braided back! I thought that was a little strange, so I watched her some more, and what do I find but that she pulled your hunting bow from the wall, pulled on a course pair of _my _working boots, and left the ranch on horseback! I do believe she's gone off to save that friend of hers…

"Are you angry with me, Master?"

"Not angry with you, no," returned Talon gruffly.

"Then are you angry with your daughter?" asked Ingo nervously. When Talon was angry, he took it out on others. And Talon was _large_.

"I'm not angry," said Talon. "I think, though, that it is time for me to accept that Malon's just not a little girl anymore. She's doing what her mother would do."

"Well, that's good," said Ingo, trying to comfort Talon.

"Not exactly," his master told him, "because that's how her mother died."

~*~

"It can't be much farther, Elhorn," Malon whispered to her steed. "At least, I don't think so… there it is! Heel, Elhorn, heel!"

The horse reared and stopped, and in front of Malon was the entrance to Castle Town Market. "Do you think he'll be here?" Malon asked the horse.

No response.

"Well, we'll give it a try," she muttered, and rode inside.

The streets of Castle Town were crowded, as always, and filled with all different life. Lovers, enemies, the rich, the poor, the important, the forgotten… every type of person lived in this town. Even those that were evil.

"Have you seen a shadow walk through here?" she asked a knight standing nearby.

"No, not a shadow," he said. "Not through this gate."

"Then he has not come," she sighed, and left.

~*~

"B, I'm leaving. Make sure the Kokiri don't worry."

"But Mido, why are you going?"

"Because I have to save Saria!" he said. "She might be in danger. And if she is, then she'll love me once I've saved her."

Mido was geared up with the sword of the Kokiri (which had once been wielded by the Hero of Time), a Kokiri Sheild, and a little helmet upon his head carved from a Deku nut.

"But, Mido… they say that the Kokiri will die if they leave the forest!"

"It's an old myth," said Mido. "It will not happen… by the way, I want a report when I come back."

"Don't worry. I'll keep them all under control."

"It's not that… just, would you tell me if they miss me while I'm gone? I don't want anybody to worry."

"Oh… yes, I can do that, Mido. No worries."

"Excellent. Tell the Kokiri that they will be in my hearts as I march to battle to save the girl I love."

"This is very cute- I mean sweet of you, Mido," giggled B.

"It is. And that is why Saria will love me once I've saved her."

"Okay," muttered B. "Now go!"

Mido smiled triumphantly and walked to the edge of the forest. Just before he stepped out, he turned around.

"Uh, B?"

"Yes, Mido?"

"Uhm… never mind."

He stepped forward again, then stopped. "Actually, B, maybe I shouldn't… ow!" he cried, as B pushed him over the line. He walked forward slowly.

"There you go, you're doing it!" she cheered.

"I'm doing it!"

"You are, you really are! Now go save her, Mido!"

And she watched him all of the way until he turned the corner and disappeared.

~*~

Malon was riding past near the entrance to Kokiri forest, trying to find a shelter for the night. A small shape appeared from between the two gnarled trees that stood on the border.

An animal?

It squeaked with fright.

Wait… it was a person!

She dismounted the horse and kneeled before the small child. "Who are you?"

"I'm Mido," he squealed.

"Why did you leave your forest?"

He cleared his throat. "I am going to save the person I love," he said.

"Yeah," replied Malon. "Me, too. C'mon, we can save them together." She led him over to the horse.

"Yeah, there's one problem with that."

"And what's that?"

"I… don't really want to ride a horse."

"Oh, get over it," she teased, and lifted him up on the saddle. She then got up and sat behind him.

"You're perfectly safe with me," she said. "Hya!"

The horse began running with a startling lurch, and they'd only been riding for two minutes before Malon started to find something weird about the atmosphere.

"Do you… smell something?" she asked Mido, stopping the steed again.

"Yeah," muttered Mido.

"Mido… did you crap yourself?"

…no response.

"This is going to be a long adventure," Malon sighed to herself, and she looked up at the moon, wondering if she'd ever save him at all, and whether he was remembering the kiss she'd granted him as she was.

**Note: Another long wait for a chapter! Oh well, I liked this one… we've got a new part to the plot. So, Zelda's saving Link, Malon's saving Link, Saria's saving Link, and Mido's saving Saria. Who's gonna save Mido?**

…**no, really- who?**

**I'll tell you who… SNUULLLLLLLL!!!!! …XD**


	9. Partners in Crime

**Chapter 9**

**Note: ONLY CHAPTER NINE!!! GRRR!!! I GOTSTA RIGHT MORRREE OFFFFTEEENNNTWN LSDFLKJLEF J WESFHJDEES:FWK ES :LW JSLKJFKD JLKDJ WWAAAA WALTER'S BURRO WILL EAT YOU ALL IF YOU DO NOT FIRST…BLACHHH!HH!H!H!H! **

**On that happy note, let's begin…**

It took two days for Talon to be himself again.

He arrived downstairs one morning, found Ingo slacking off and sleeping, and yelled, "Get up, you lazy brute! You've got work to do!!"

Ingo groaned but got up nonetheless, pulling his tools from the wall and walking over to the door.

"Wait," said Talon. Ingo stopped, his hand resting on the doorknob.

"Yes, Master?"

"I need… hold on a second."

Ingo watched as Talon disappeared upstairs, rummaged around inside for several moments, and then reappeared holding what seemed to be a pitchfork. He was wearing a green sash and a pair of gloves.

"Master?" asked Ingo cautiously, fearing that Talon had gone insane.

"I am going to save her," Talon replied simply. "I refuse to let her die the way that her mother did. Do not try to stop me. I will be back."

Ingo cocked an eyebrow. "But… I thought you'd told yourself that you had to accept her leaving."

"I did accept it," said Talon, "for two full days. Now, I am going to save her."

He left.

Walking down the hill from the ranch, he passed somebody who was also walking up. They had taken six paces past each other before they even realized that they'd just walked by someone.

They turned around quickly.

"Glory!" cried Talon. "You're the King of Hyrule- but what in tarnation- I mean- Your Highness! I bid you good morning!"

"There will be no time for worship," replied the king, who he himself appeared to be weary and distraught. "If you are the Master of this ranch, then I ask of you—have you seen my daughter, the most wise and noble Princess Zelda?"

"I'm afraid I haven't," replied Talon, "though I have heard some other very curious things. Why do you ask?"

"She disappeared in the night, and I was told the next morning by her Handmaiden, the bold Impa, that she'd gone off to save a young man that was quite dear to her."

"That sounds a lot like where my daughter went," Talon replied darkly. "I fancy it was the same fellow. Do you remember the kid's name?"

"Link, I believe- he isn't from Hyrule Proper, he's some type of traveler from the woods."

"It's the same one," muttered Talon. "I swear, when I find that kid, I'm gonna twist him so hard he'll wish he'd never been born. He broke my daughter's heart, now I'll break his head!"

"I don't believe there's any need to get violent," King Harkinian replied, "but I do wish that I could go off in search of my daughter without having to do it alone… say, are you going to…"

"Save my daughter, yes," Talon said. "And… if you are as well, then perhaps we should team up and find them."

Neither man brought up how awkward the idea nor the situation was- they didn't need to.

"I'll do it," said King Harkinian. "Yes, we shall do it together. But- do you have steeds that we could ride upon? I'm awfully tired of walking all this distance."

Talon sighed. "I'm afraid I don't," he replied. "Malon took one of the few we had left, we only have one left."

Ten minutes later, Talon and King Harkinian were seated on the same steed, with Talon taking the reins.

"This is exceedingly awkward," King Harkinian muttered.

"Well, what kind of **great expectations** did you have for this quest? Do you want to save your daughter or not?!" cried Talon.

"I do!"

"Then let's ride."

~*~

"So, Princess," said Link, who was feeling reasonably better now that he was on the right track to becoming himself again, "how does it feel to wear a tunic for the first time? Quite personally, I think it's a little breezy downstairs, but I manage."

Zelda smiled, but didn't reply.

"Do you have any idea where we're actually going?" asked Link, serious this time.

"I might," Zelda replied. "I know we need to go to the forest, which is a start. Once there, we'll need to go to where the Deku Tree was situated, and keep on going even from that point. There should be a cave that I'll need to unseal with magic, which is where we separate. You will enter the cave on your own."

"That sounds dark," said Link.

"You're dark as well," she reminded him, which made him scowl.

Presently, they were skimming the border of Zora's river in Hyrule Field, covered by shrubbery and rocks, and shielded by the trees. A thin white bridge was off in the distance. Once they had crossed over, they will have entered the Realm belonging to the Kokiri.

"I don't know what's inside the cave," Zelda continued, "but it will be some type of Trial. A Trial of Spirit, maybe, or a Trial of Skill. You will need to fight, but you will need to stay level-headed. If you lose yourself in a Trial…"

"Then what happens?"

"I wouldn't be able to answer," she said. "I'm good with books, but nobody can predict the future. Nobody."

"You can," he muttered. "If you remember what happened last. Zelda, they say that history repeats itself. What if the history that we remember but never happened… happens again?"

"You speak of our battle against Ganondorf. Link, he has been sealed away into the Sacred Realm. There is no way for him to return, unless the Goddesses free him."

"But," said Link, "what if he saw it coming? What if he created a way to come back before he was jailed in the Dark World?"

"Like I said, Link," said Zelda, "nobody can predict the future."

~*~

Malon and Mido were walking slowly down the lane. An old dirt road through Hyrule field was what they used as a guide, and the sun was slowly setting down in the distance.

"Who are you saving?" Malon asked Mido.

"A wonderful girl named Saria," replied the Forest Kid. "She's very beautiful, and she's the only person in the world who's ever been nice to me. Well… until recently, she's been kind of angry with me. So I need to prove myself to her."

"Would you die for her?" Malon asked.

"Of course not," Mido replied as if that were the most ridiculous question. "Because then, even if she _did _love me, I wouldn't be here to enjoy it. What about you? Who are you going to save?"

"Link," she replied softly, as if this were her only chance to say his name.

"Hey, I know him!" said Mido. "Me and my thugs used to pick on him! Heh, what a loser, he needs saving. If he were like me, _he'd _be the one saving the girl."

Malon chuckled lightly. "You have thugs?" She apparently hadn't heard the last part.

"'Course I do," said Mido. "That's why I'm leader."

"You lead your people, and you left them all alone?"

"Well, yeah…" said Mido. "But I have to save Saria! We'd all be lost without her!"

Malon sighed. "Mido, is this girl important to you because you care about her, or you desire to be known as her boyfriend?"

"The latter, I suppose," said Mido. "But, hey, nobody's perfect. And I do love her, a little. It's just hard, when you don't know if they love you back."

"You've got that right," Malon whispered.

**Note: Woo hoo! 2 chapters in 2 days!! It's a record! So, here's a hint: if you've had the title on your mind (you probably haven't) then you'll know that it doesn't just apply to Link: Here's Talon, trying to regain his daughter, and Malon, trying to regain stuff, and Talon's already mentioned that he wants revenge on link. AND GAY GUYS!!! (jk, jk) Yeey, I loved the beginning. It had me laughing, and thinking about the Initiation. AND GREAT EXPECTATIONS!! :) gotta love Pip and his emotional spazzms…. !!!!!!! **


	10. The Battle of the Kokiri Woods

**Chapter 10 (yay! Double digits!!)**

"It's haunting to be back," Link muttered, as he walked over the silent bridge with the Princess of Destiny. "I left when I was only eleven, and I've barely visited since."

"Ah, reuniting with your old haunts," Zelda joked. "Don't forget, you weren't first- when we first traveled back in time and I was back in the castle… when I saw my father, alive and well again… you're right, it is haunting."

"But when you returned, was it against your will?"

"Not exactly."

"That's because you hadn't been trying to avoid it for seven years."

They entered the little village, but were shocked to find it extremely empty.

"Now that's strange," said Zelda, "because when I was here only several days ago, it was crowded. Look, even the stray fairies are gone!"

"No, wait," said Link, focusing his gaze on a section of the forest off to the side. "Do you see that? It looks to me like a crowd of children."

"It _is_!"

"They're surrounding something," Link observed. "Let's go check it out."

"Yes, lets…"

They crossed over the threshold to the crowd. The children turned around, some of them terrified, others looking reassured.

"What is that?!" cried one of them, pointing at Link's dark features.

"It's a monster!" another cried.

"Look!" cried another girl, "it's the ranger! She's back! Oh, brave ranger, kill him off before he harms us all!!"

"He's not here to kill you!" Zelda yelled. "He is here for your help. Now… wait, what's this? B, are you all right?"

B ran to the princess, her face tearstained. "Oh, the most horrible thing has happened!" she cried. "Come and see…"

Link and Zelda pushed their way through the crowd curiously to the center, where they found, lying on the ground, a dark wound in her chest…

"No!" cried Link aloud. He ran over to the body and knelt down. "No… Saria!"

The princess raised a gloved hand to Saria's forehead, and sighed when she pulled it off again. "How did this happen?" she asked.

"We don't know," said B. "Mido left me in charge—"

"Where did _he _go?!" cried the princess, while Link yelled:

"Mido, that jerk! This is his fault!"

"He left to go and _save _Saria," B informed them. "As soon as you made her disappear, he left the forest."

"That's so sweet," said Zelda, which brought Link to say:

"Well, he failed. Now he'll pay double."

"Anyway," said B, "the Kokiri wasted no time in pulling out some instruments and throwing a huge party, because Mido was gone, and in all of the confusion somebody realized that Saria was back, and that she had returned… dead." B hiccupped loudly.

Link's face was dark and drawn.

Zelda placed her hand on the cold girl's shoulder, but then… she felt a tug on her hand, and the symbol of the Triforce began glowing.

"Back up!" she cried, and Link jumped up and took a few steps away. "That's not Saria!" yelled Zelda loudly, and the children all turned and fled in horror as Zelda pulled out her scythe. Link pulled out the sword that he had taken from the soldiers he had fought, and they all watched in horror as the small body that resembled Saria raised into the air, her eyes glowing and her hands spread out, and screamed loudly. It pulled out two long blades and began to fight with such force that the few Kokiri remaining screamed in fright, and all disappeared into their homes except for Link, Zelda, and B.

Link was the first to run forward. Now that they knew that this wasn't Saria at all, just some creature mimicking her form, Link, embraced by his darker side, was not afraid to hurt it. Zelda, however, was reluctant…

The creature and the Dark Hero were soon engaged in a fierce battle. The creature was light and nimble, agile and accurate. Link was slower, but stronger- yet they were not equally matched. The creature was still a better fighter. Link had soon been overpowered and cast to the ground, where he remained fighting on his knees. The creature forced him down to the ground and pushed one of its blades right next to Link's nose, but he was able to stop it with his own. He used all of his force to push the creature that looked like Saria back up, and it was sent flying through the air. As soon as it landed, it pushed itself from the ground, seemingly unharmed. It charged forward, its blade extended, at an incredible speed-

Link stopped it easily. He was getting used to this fake Saria's style of fighting- now that he was prepared for the attacks, he wasn't as threatened by the battle.

"This is where the fun begins," he muttered, and was soon convinced that he had the upper hand in this battle

He began to laugh, but Zelda watched in horror from the sides: "LINK, WATCH OUT!" she screamed, and Link whirled around to find that the false Saria had duplicated itself, and there were now two. He lunged at one of them, but it disappeared in a puff of smoke, and the original one just doubled in size such that it was as large as Link. It pulled out its sword…. And it caught Link with a heavy blow to the thigh. Link was thrown backward through the air and hit a wall, falling down to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Enraged, Zelda lunged forward with her scythe, knocked the false Saria to the ground, cornered it against the wall, and held the blade to its throat.

Link raised himself groggily and watched.

"Zelda!" he yelled, "you need to kill it!"

Zelda bit her lip, nervous, watching the fake Saria.

"Zelda! Just do it!" yelled Link, who would have done it himself if he could just stand up.

"I…Link," muttered Zelda, who was looking into the face of the Saria that she knew and loved so well…

"JUST RUN IT THROUGH, DAMMIT!!" yelled Link. Zelda pulled the blade back, prepared to slice forward—

And the sword clattered to the floor. Link watched in horror as Zelda gave in, and the cornered creature disappeared in a puff of smoke. Zelda, shaken, sank to the ground. She sat there in awe for a moment or two, staring blankly ahead, before she put the scythe back in the scabbard and walked over to help Link up.

"Are you okay?" she asked nervously.

"It got away," Link replied darkly. "But… I think I'll be all right. The wound has already healed."

"One advantage of being your own shadow," Zelda replied. "We could all use that power."

"No," Link replied. "You don't want to be a shadow… _never make that wish._ You don't know how it feels… I feel… dark, and compressed. And untamed. And worse than that, I feel that it is both my destiny and my choice that I shall always be dark and dirty and untamed. I can do nothing to change that."

"Not alone, you can't," said Zelda. "But together, we shall be a force that can change anything."

**Note: Aww… Link and Zelda are learning the power of friendship… JUST LIKE SNULL! …lol, I just realized, Link is "dirty and untamed". He's, like, the Heathcliff of LoZ… whatever… well, the creature that Malon saw is back! What now?**


	11. Temptation

Chapter 11

HEY! I CONTINUED!! Why, I wasn't going to, so you people should be HONORED THAT I'M SO FORGIVING!! Eh, lies… whatever. Here you are. Please leave me reviews telling me how horrible it was!!

"Are you ready for this?"

They stood behind part of the Deku Tree, and the cave that had once concealed the steps leading down to the chamber of the first trial had been blasted open by Zelda's magic.

"Kind of dark down there," Link muttered, poking his head inside. "Creepy."

"It reminds me of the pictograph you brought me back from Woodfall," Zelda whispered.

"Where?" asked Link, thoroughly confused.

"Oh, yeah, you lost your memory. Never mind."

He turned to the princess, his dark bangs shrouding part of her face from view. It used to be that the sun glinted off of his blond hair, and blinded his blue eyes, and tanned his fair skin. Now it was all dark; his hair black, his skin midnight, and his irises crimson to their very depths.

"I miss my old me," he sighed to the princess, who gave him a kind smile.

"You'll find your way back in the end," she assured him, planting a small kiss on his cheek that stung mildly. Link didn't have time to be embarrassed, for she'd already kicked him down the stairs and sealed the entrance behind him.

He stepped down the stairs slowly; something was dripping from the ceiling in the distance, and he could see nothing. It was ultimately too dark.

But, no, there was a little light in the distance… it began to expand and draw closer, until there was a complete archway in front of Link that led out into a world of light. He stepped through it, shading his eyes with a gloved hand.

The sun beat down in the hero's eyes, and all around him was vegetation, hedges, entangled with each other. They stretched off in uneven directions, almost like corridors, and some stopped right away, while others continued on and turned the corner. It took him a minute to realize where he was: Link was inside of a maze! For his first trial, he would have to find his way through a maze.

Well, all right, then.

He started forward.

He was unsure of which direction to go. He didn't have a map, he didn't have a compass, he didn't have Navi, and he had absolutely no sense of direction. He'd have to wing it.

Link made his way down a corridor, took a right, took a left, then another left, and he'd just started down a middle passageway when he started hearing music.

"It's just like the Lost Woods!" he shouted aloud, realizing that the music seemed to be coming from the way on his left. That must have been the right direction.

He tore down the corridor.

~*~

"Ya think he'll make it?" asked B to Zelda, her hands on her hips.

Zelda was sitting beside the sealed entrance that Link had last disappeared behind. "Of course I do," she said. "I have complete faith in him."

"Do you, now?" asked B. "Why is he so evil-looking, anyway?"

The princess eyed the ground quietly. "It was the work of demons," she whispered. "He…looked in a mirror."

B howled with laughter. "He was that ugly, huh?!" Zelda angrily shot her a look of distaste.

"It was the Demon of the Dark World tempting him. He must have been speaking to his mind, offering him things that appealed to him."

"Like what things?"

"He won't tell me," Zelda sighed.

"You asked?"

"Well, no," Zelda replied. "But such a thing is very private, very personal. If I asked you what the darkest, most secret desire of your heart was, what would you say?"

"Iced cream."

"…never mind," said Zelda, pulling a blade of grass out from the ground and twisting it between her forefinger and thumb. She brought it to her lips and began chewing on it in earnest worry.

"So… you _do _think he'll make it through, right?" said B. "And you _do _think he'll be himself again?"

"Tell me, B, who are you worried for? Me, or him?"

"Him, of course. I want him to change back."

"And why's that?" pursued the Princess.

"Because I'm sure he'd be very cute, duh."

~*~

The music was becoming louder, but still it was not a tune that Link recognized. However, it almost seemed that he _had _heard it before, and in the recent past, as well. Nevertheless, he couldn't say where.

And why did he feel that it was draining all of his energy?

His limbs were growing tired, and his mind was feeling a little blank. _It's just the heat,_ he told himself, but he knew that it had to be more. It was the song! He had to stop the song from playing!

Link ran forward, his fists balled at his sides. He was stumbling, more following instinct than he was the song. He tripped, and caught his balance, and it became a repeated process. Run, trip, catch, run, trip, catch. He needed to use his hands on the branches to support him; he began to feel rather raw inside.

Moving purely on impulse, now, he came upon a clearing, where he found a small boy that resembled a scarecrow dancing and playing a song on a set of reed pipes. It was _the _song, the one he had to stop! Link swiped for the pipes, but the boy disappeared and reappeared behind him, chuckling.

"Aw, de widdy baby wents de music to end! Well, it shell not!!" the small boy continued chuckling and playing the music, and Link was further drained of his energy.

It occurred to him, suddenly, that he'd heard this music playing somewhere when he'd been fighting the fake Saria. And then it dawned on him- this was Saria's Song! How could he have forgotten it?! But the magic of the song was being used against him, and he was growing more tired by the minute. Angrily, he pulled out his only sword and swung at the scarecrow kid agin, and it disappeared once more, reappearing five feet away.

"Hey! You don't try end hit Skull Kid! Or Skull Kid will summon de Mester!"

"The Master?" repeated Link. "Fine! Call the Master! I will take him on myself!"

"YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME?!" came a voice, and a wisp of smoke shot down from above. It was a bodiless form, but an unearthly voice emitted from it all the same. "You cannot kill one whom you love," it whispered.

"What do you mean?!" cried Link. "You are no friend of mine!"

As he spoke, the wisp evolved into the body of a beautiful, fair maiden. She retained gorgeous green eyes and golden hair, and was dressed in a green dress. Her face held the wisdom of many centuries.

"Lady Farore!" Link cried out, falling to his knees. He felt especially unworthy in his dark state.

The Goddess smiled devilishly, and her eyes suddenly glowed golden.

"Hold on!!" Link bellowed, springing back to his feet. "You're not Farore at all! You're the same villain that impersonated Saria in the woods!"

"I am, but I am no villain," said the figure. "You must understand, Link, that I am on your side. I sense great anguish and misery in you. Thou must learn to use this to your advantage. If you do, you can return to yourself in a much more efficient manner."

"I know I shouldn't trust you," Link muttered.

"No, you don't… but I can feel your temptation, swelling inside of you. Yes, do as you please, go with the Princess in your wretchedness. But even _you _have your doubts that her ventures will succeed. The melancholy will not dissipate even after you have transformed back to yourself, for you will have paid to receive it. Only remember this: if you accept my offer, you will not have to pay this price. I will be able to give it to you without expense of worthless blood."

"I will not accept."

"You do not have to… yet. Here, I shall let you through to your first mirror, if only you will keep in mind my offer."

"I… yes, thank you," said Link. He knew he shouldn't listen. And he wouldn't. It was only the trial, trying to lure him aside.

The wisp disappeared, and the way was opened to reveal a glittering mirror in the distance, built with an emerald flame.

"Don't forget," the sky whispered to the dejected man down below.


	12. As if that was the Truth

**Chapter… uh… I think it's twelve. Lemme check. *checks fanfiction***

**Yay! It IS twelve!! I have such a good memory!!**

**Note: It's been MONTHS!! MONTHS I TELL YOU!! Hey, I'm on the track team! Cut me some slack! I also fell into the deep dark pit of writer's block (LIES! I was just lazy) and have taken an unusually strong liking to Ben 10 Alien Force and toast with cream cheese. Anyway, enjoy!!**

**P.S. Molly, you will enjoy this chapter. Lots and lots. I hope. **

**P.P.S. MIKEYYY**

***pay no mind if you don't get it***

Chapter 12: As if that was the Truth

Link approached the mirror. It was beautiful and serene; unearthly, untouched, with an emerald frame and a silver surface. A pool of white light surrounded it, and standing beside it, her blue eyes filled with tears of joy was:

"Saria!"

Link pulled the sage of forest into an enormous bear hug and she sqealed.

"Lemme go, Link! I can't breath!"

He set her down on the ground and breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he was headed in the right direction. All he needed was her blessing, and then only 5 left to go. Probably.

"You look frightening," she observed, glancing at Link's face.

"Glad you think so. That puts you along with everybody else in Hyrule. Did you know that I'm now a wanted man?" Link replied casually.

"Are you, now?" Saria said. "Well, let's get this over with. You want my blessing?"

"The sooner the better," Link answered. "I have five more after this, anyhow. And I'm finally here."

"Well, I'd be happy to bestow it upon you. Except… will you answer one question for me, first?"

"I'd be delighted."

"How are the kokiri? I'm not sure how long I've been gone; I think it's only been a day or two, but time seems to go so much slower here, and I can't leave until I've passed on the message to the next sage."

"They're fine," said Link. "Mido's trying to save you, though. You're not in trouble, right?"

"No…"

"Well, then, if I see him, I'll make sure he knows. Then I'll kill him."

"Link!!"

Link chuckled. He was feeling much better now that he was with Saria. The memories were finally starting to come back. Just being in the forest had sparked his memories of Mido and a few of the kokiri… and Zelda had reminded him who the Deku Tree was. But for now, he couldn't remember anything else. Although, Zelda had told him to tell the name "Ruto" to Saria when he saw her. He figured this was another sage, though the only thing he could feel was a frightened feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't know _why _the name frightened him. It just did.

"Well, here you go, Link," said Saria, and there was a bright flash of light, then a few seconds of darkness.

"_I always knew you would leave, because you're different… "_

_The young boy ventured out from the forest with a small, wooden ocarina in his hand. He walked out into the bright, blinding sunlight of Hyrule Field. In the distance were the spokes of a huge, white castle. Walk that entire distance in one day? Hardly!!  
A cart rode by on the dusty road. There was a young girl humming to herself in the back with red hair._

_ "Hello there!" she yelled, waving. The cart paused. "You look tired," she said. "Do you need a ride?"_

_ "I'm going to Hyrule Castle!" the boy said excitedly. "I'm gonna meet Princess Zelda!"_

_ "Princess Zelda? Really!? That's so cool! My papa's on his way to the castle as well. You should join us."_

_ The father waved from the front seat._

_ "Thanks a lot!" said the boy, clambering into the cart._

_ "Is that a fairy!?" cried the girl as Navi peeked out from under Link's collar._

_ "Yeah. Her name's Navi. She's my friend," said the boy proudly. He didn't have many friends, only Saria._

_ "Nice. Maybe I'll call you… Fairy Boy! 'Cause you have a fairy!"_

_ The boy chuckled. "I'd prefer Link."_

_ "Link, shmink. I like Fairy Boy better. I'm Malon, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you…"_

"…Link? Liiiiink? Wake up…"

Link opened his eyes feebly. He was on the ground, and Saria was staring at him from above. "Link! You're up! You blacked out for a second there…"

Link got up and rubbed his head.

"Are you okay?"

Link could muster up two words: "Vivid dream."

"Oh. Yeah, Zelda told me that might happen. Hey, speaking of Zelda, do you have the next name to give to me?"

"Ruto," Link told her. "I think it's Ruto."

Saria giggled. "I'll pass on the message. She'll be excited to see _you _again!"

"And why's that?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll know once you've met her. Speaking of which—EEK!"

Saria was interrupted abruptly as the sky filled up with clouds. A giant funnel stretched down and turned into a smoky hand that wrapped around Saria's torso and began to carry her away.

"SARIA!" yelled Link, and he reached for his sword. It vanished in his hand.

"I'll be taking that," sounded a voice in the sky. It was the same woman again; the one who had tried to tempt him.

"Link!" screamed Saria, who was carried through the tunnel and around the corner. Link chased after her angrily.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU DASTARDLY BRUTE!!"

"Oh, what a gentleman," said the woman. Link came out into the huge clearing with the maze. The music had stopped; he did not know where to go.

"PUT HER DOWN!!"

"As you wish," said the woman, and with a malicious chuckle, she dropped Saria down into the brush. She then vaporized in front of Link and smiled deviously, assuming the form of the guard he had killed outside of Castle Town Market.

"Murderer…" she whispered. The guard's eye sockets were empty and black, with dried blood filling the cracks underneath. "Murderer of Men… Murderer of Innocence…"

"We've discussed this already!" cried Link. "My innocence is gone!! I need not dwell on it!"

"Dwell on it with all your heart and soul!" cried the woman. "Let your thoughts land on it! Attach yourself to your hatred, your anger, your lust!! That is what you are! You are a shadow!"

"Shut up!" cried Link, for lack of a better word.

"You are like me: unreal, cruel, and internally murdered with the scars of your past!"

"I'm warning you, be quiet or I'll-"

"The blood of those you've killed is all you've left to live on! You have killed them! You will kill yourself, and all you love will—"

"Argh!!"

Link leapt forward and grabbed the woman around the throat. She began to writhe and grunt.

"I'll kill you!"

"Go ahead," said the woman. "Just another murder under your belt…"

"Die!"

She transformed into Zelda's form—Zelda's form, back in the other timeline, when Ganondorf was holding her ransom. Her blue eyes shone with fear…

Link, surprised, let go. She disappeared in a puff of white smoke that stung Link's eyes. When he could see again, she was gone. He began breathing heavily.

"Saria?" he choked.

"I'm over here!" she called back, her voice shaking.

"Where?"

"Depends—where are you?"

"Uhm…" Link looked around his surroundings, and came up with an idea. The walls of the maze were made of vegetation…

He pulled off a stalk of corn and tossed it into the sky as hard as he could.

"I see you!" yelled Saria, and in a few moments she was next to him on the path.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes. Thank you, Link…"

She looked nervous.

"Did you… hear all of that?" Link asked. She nodded sheepishly.

"It must be hard," she finally whispered. Link shrugged.

"Not really," he lied. "I manage."

In fact, it was very hard. Very, very hard. But he needn't tell Saria that. He'd worried her enough already.


	13. Things Untold

**CHAPTER 13 HAS BEEN EDITED.**

**_I changed the memory sequence in this chapter to add a wee bit more foreshadowing and mysterious... thiiiiings. Just for funsies, who remembers what the original memory was? Because I couldn't tell you for the life o' me._**

"I'm not sure where to begin, exactly."

"Well, think about it. Where did you last see her?"

"She was… in the woods. And then Zelda sent her away, and I don't know where she went… how will Saria ever love me if I die before I can rescue her!"

Mido stabbed his sword into the dirt before him. Across from him, on the other side of the campfire, was Malon. It wasn't dark yet, but the trees around them were black and bare, and the sky was a dusty grayish color. They needed all the light they could get.

"You won't die," Malon assured him. "There's nothing dangerous in Hyrule. This isn't a quest, it's a… safety precaution."

When in doubt, thought Malon, you should always lie to yourself.

"But _Saria_!" yelled Mido. "I need to save her!" He yanked his sword from the ground and stood up to pace around for the twentieth time.

"You've stated that once… twice… many times before. Here, Mido, talk will get us nowhere. Maybe we should walk."

"Walk? Walk where? We're in the middle of nowhere! Look where walking has gotten us!"

"Here," stated Malon. "Walking has gotten us here."

"As opposed to…?"

"There."

"And whither is this 'there' you speak of?"

"Elsewhere," said Malon, and Mido groaned.

"You and your riddles! Just say things straight out!"

"I am! I'm saying all I know."

"Why can't you be smart?"

Malon got to her feet and screeched.

"I AM SMART! NEWSFLASH, LITTLE BOY, NOT EVERYBODY CAN BE PRINCESS ZELDA!"

Mido backed away in shock. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry sorry sorry! Please don't eat me!"

Malon exhaled deeply. "I've been meaning to say that for awhile," she admitted. Her thoughts floated to Zelda. That useless, do-nothing princess. She was probably over in her castle right now, having tea and dreaming about all the princes she'd met, with no idea that Link was even in danger. Malon was positive that Zelda wasn't out in Hyrule like she was, dressed up like a man just so that she could save one single person.

…

"How'd it go?" asked the Princess as Link emerged from the cave once more. "Did you give her the message?"

"Yes," said Link, and he grinned, however falsely. "I gave it to her, and got the blessing."

"Anything else happen?"

Link thought for a moment. "No," he decided. "Nothing else."

"How was the trial?"

Link was prepared for this one. "It was a maze," he said. "But I found my way."

Both paused.

"Is that all?"

"Yup."

"Sure?"

"Completely."

Zelda sighed, relieved. "I'm glad you're okay," she admitted. "Are you ready to find the next mirror?"

The memory of what had happened in the chamber came back to Link. He was reluctant to go through that situation again, but if it was necessary…

"Yes," he said.

Note: I must announce that I just took a break to eat some raspberry mousse yogurt. So if the quality of the chapter increases/decreases, then you will know why. Thank you.

"Excellent," said Zelda.

B tumbled out of the bushes and landed on the grass.

"What was that?" said Link.

B giggled and caught his attention. "I was hiding in the thicket. I was hoping you two would kiss again…"

"Again?" said Zelda.

"Yeah, before you sent him down there, you kissed him on the cheek. Remember?"

Zelda blushed, and Link's cheeks flushed even darker.

"That wasn't…"

"No, it wasn't…"

"Shut up, B."

"Sorry, Link." She chuckled. "You're cute."

Link grimaced as another memory came back to him.

"_He was hurting inside from the cruel split from his other half. He could feel nothing but anger and sorrow, as happy emotions were not allowed to him. People looked at him as if he was some monster—no liberty should belong to a gruesome figure such as himself! _

_He drew away, far away, from people, and housed himself in the ruins of an ancient temple. And one day, a beautiful woman appeared to him with a request that was to be kept a secret from everyone…"_

Link withdrew from the memory quickly. It didn't make any sense… he didn't recognize where he was in that memory, or who he was talking to.

"You all right, Link?"

"Yes, B, I'm fine."

"Yayy! You ARE a pretty boy, though. Like an old friend of mine… Mikey. He was pretty, too."

Zelda was looking at Link skeptically. "Time to go," she told him.

"Are you going to play the song again?" asked Link. He didn't want her to play the song again—he didn't want time to speed up before his eyes, he didn't want to see Zelda in physical pain as she played only a few notes.

"I can't," she admitted.

"But why?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I just don't get it," said Link. "It's like there's some big secret that that song has to it. What does it do?"

"What's the song?" said B, but Zelda shook her head.

"Not here," said Zelda, catching Link's eye. Then he understood.

Such things were not for kokiri ears.

"We'll just walk," said Zelda. So they did.

…

The tavern was filled with people of all sizes and shapes.

"Just a few minutes," said the King. "I don't want to be spotted."

"Don't worry about it," promised Talon, fiddling with his sash. "I mean, Your Highness, I won't go in, if you really insist."

"No, no, go ahead," said the King. He didn't mean to hold up one of his subjects. They were like his children, and he their father. The better he was to the people, the better they would be to his daughter when she took the throne.

The two men took a seat at the bar.

"Can I get you something?" said the bartender.

"One, please," said the king. He looked very out of place in his fine robes. The bartender didn't comment on the V.I.P. he had in his tavern. Instead, he just got a glass of light wine for the king. He turned to Talon.

"And you?"

"The regular."

A big, frothy drink was placed before Talon.

"Only one," ordered the King. "No more."

An hour and a half later, both men were on the floor, their faces pink, and each half dead.

…

"So, your memories are returning to you?"

"Yeah," admitted Link. "I believe they are. I don't know why that one came, though. I didn't recognize it, and it didn't make any sense."

"It might have been a glance as to what the next trial is."

Link thought about it for a second. "Could be," he said.

Zelda smiled. "You never know. It was about a woman that you did not recognize?"

Link nodded, and a horrible feeling landed in the pit of his stomach.

_"…. to be kept a secret from everyone…"_

…_"_

Had it really gotten that far that he wasn't just keeping secrets from Zelda, but that he'd been keeping them his whole life?

From everone?


	14. And Then There Were Four

**Hoorah hoorah! Chapter 14! I really DID mean it when I said I update about once a month. **

**Okay, I have some explaining to do.**

**However horrible this story is, there's a part of me that really misses writing it and having Mary-Sue Zelda hanging over my shoulder like a dead goose. Even though I've stopped browsing and writing tons and tons of crackfics, I don't think it would be necessarily bad of me, or unreliable, or untruthful of me to continue updating this story every now and then. I was reading it this morning in my iPod and… I really do love it, in a love/hate type of way. Pretty much the same way I feel about my dog and the majority of my siblings.**

**Also, if anybody has noticed, I've developed an addiction to the word hoorah. I'll probably slip it in here somewhere, along with a reference to Ferris and deodorant. **

**Now, I need to do something important, that I've wanted to avoid: SYNOPSIS TIME! Apparently, 99.9% of people reading this story have totally lost track of what is going on because I started it ALMOST A YEAR AGO! (that's pretty much 1.2 chapters per month, probably, I didn't actually do the math that's just my guesstimation. HOORAH FOR BAD GRAMMAR!)**

**If, at this point in the story, you are quite up-to-date with what is going on, I suggest you scroll down about 1,300 words to the point where the bold-type has ceased and the normal font begins. That is where the actual chapter takes its debut. :D**

**So here's the scoop: The story opens up with Link in front of a mirror, in which he sees his reflection. His reflection looks JUST LIKE Dark Link, and a second later Link is pulled into the mirror and TURNS INTO Dark Link! Once he returns from the mirror to the light world, he is forced to give up using the master sword because he is impure. He has lost all of his memories by the time he returns to Hyrule, and can only remember four people- Ganondorf, Zelda, Saria, and Talon. Link decides that he must do three things in order to have self esteem again- regain his memories, get revenge on whoever prompted him to go to the mirror in the first place (he doesn't remember who), and reconcile himself. AKA, turn back into NORMAL LINK! Yep.**

**Link goes to Talon for help, and Malon listens in on his conversation and finds out that Link has forgotten her. She is distraught for awhile, but once she realizes WHY Link has forgotten her, she automatically forgives him. She pleads with Link to let her help him, but he doesn't want to endanger him. She kisses him without his permission, and afterwards, he leaves. Talon then runs into the toolshed (the building Link has just left Malon in) with an assassin trying to attack him. Malon is able to overthrow the assassin, and then realizes that the person attacking was a complete duplicate of herself. HOW MYSTERIOUS. The assassin vanishes, and Malon realizes what a threat they will be to Link on his journey. She therefore decides to save him herself, because, you know, Link can't protect himself in the wilderness. It's not like he's a warrior or the Hero of Time or anything. Talon accepts that his daughter has left the Ranch for good, and that he no longer has any control over her since she is an adult.**

**Meanwhile, Zelda has a vision that makes her realize what has happened to Link. She disguises as a Sheik-type thing and calls herself a "ranger", and then sneaks out of the castle. Only Impa realizes that she has left. Zelda knows exactly what she needs to do to save Link, but first she needs to find him. She decides to look in the Lost Woods, where she eventually locates a small Kokiri girl named B. B claims that Mido had sent she and her sister Phoebe out into the woods, but B didn't know why and eventually Phoebe went missing. B takes Zelda back to Mido's house, where Saria is stationed. It turns out that Saria has had a vision similar to Zelda's, and also knows of the fate that has befallen Link. Saria was going to go into the woods and look for Link herself, but then Mido said he'd do it for her. He then sent Phoebe and B into the woods to do it for HIM. Phoebe returns and states that she doesn't know where Link is and that he's not in the Lost Woods at all. Saria is distraught, but after receiving orders from Zelda to do something important, she warps away.**

**Zelda leaves the following morning to go out and look for Link. Just as she's getting ready to leave the woods, a giant bird swoops down and kidnaps here. The bird takes her to Hyrule Field, but is killed in mid-flight by somebody on the ground. Zelda lands safely and realizes that the killer of the bird was Link, and that he has also freshly killed two of the soldiers of her court. He was fighting a third one, but it escaped. Zelda is distraught at what Link has become and the things he has done to hurt people, and Link is equally tarnished. **

**Zelda takes Link to Death Mountain by way of warping with the Ocarina of Time. She plays a mysterious song that uses up time, energy, and apparently puts her in pain as she plays it. She refuses to explain the song to Link. She then tells him what they need to do in order to turn him back into himself: Link needs to find 6 mirrors scattered across Hyrule. At each mirror a sage is stationed. Link must pass trials in front of each mirror to receive the blessings of the sage. He can then progress to the next mirror, and so forth, until all of the blessings have been bestowed. He will then be himself again. Zelda displays no interest in what Link does after that. The two start out on their quest towards the Woods, where Link will find the first mirror- Saria's.**

**Mido, startled by Saria's sudden disappearance, makes up his mind to go and save her so that she will love him. As soon as he leaves the woods, he teams up with Malon. Both are going to save their lovers, though neither of them have any idea where they are. **

**Back at the ranch, Talon suddenly decides to go out and save Malon on his own. He doesn't want her to die the same way that her mother did. (**unexplained and unimportant to the plot.) He teams up with King Harkinian, who is also out and about trying to locate and rescue HIS daughter, princess Zelda. They end up riding on the same horse (AWKWARD, like SQUIDWARD!) to [insert title for unnamed city] here, where they get very drunk and go no further.**

**Link and Zelda return to the Kokiri forest, where the figure that Malon saw appears and impersonates Saria. Link and Zelda battle the fake Saria, but Link is injured halfway through and unable to fight. Zelda is unable to finish off the fake Saria due to her love for the real one. They then head toward the next mirror.**

**Link faces the first trial in front of Saria's mirror, where he has to find his way through a maze. (This maze represents his troubled mind, btw.) At the end of the maze, he fights Skull Kid. He thinks that this is the trial, but it's really the predecessor to the REAL trial. At the end of it, he is strongly tempted by a woman to abandon his path and join her on the quicker route to recovery. Even in his dark state, however, Link is able to overthrow the evil pleads of the woman due to the loyalty he holds for his friends. On the other hand, he keeps her offer in mind. When he promises to consider her offer, she lets him through to Saria's mirror. When he receives her blessing, he blacks out for a minute and a piece of his memories come back to him. He then gives the name "Ruto" to Saria, though he doesn't know what it means. Saria is quickly kidnapped by the evil woman, but Link wards her off and Saria is saved. Link leaves the trial with Saria's blessing, but the trauma from the trial is still with him as he emerges from the cave. Zelda senses something is wrong, but B, being a child, only cares about the relationship between Link and Zelda and begs them to kiss again.**

**Malon and Mido, meanwhile, are getting about as far in their quest as Talon and King Harkinian are. Malon is struggling over her feelings for Link and her jealousy for Princess Zelda. She, like B, is strongly convinced that the Hero and the Princess are more than friends. Malon is enraged that Link can love Zelda, even though Zelda is (apparently) sitting in her castle enjoying tea and crumpets, unaware that Link is even in danger.**

**Another memory comes back to Link about Romani Ranch, and though it doesn't fit in with the memory he has just regained, it forewarns him of what is approaching in the next trial. At least, that's what Zelda says. And if I remember correctly, which most of the time I don't, I think I was planning for **SPOILER**.**

**Link is deeply bothered by a line in the memory that said "Don't Tell Cremia" because he feels he has been keeping many secrets from Zelda, and he now realizes that he is very secretive around anybody. He is very angry that he is so unable to trust anybody…**

…**and that's it so far!**

**I hope I didn't forget anything very important. I don't think I did… :\ AWKWARD FACE!**

**So, yeah. This took me FOREVER to type, but I did it from pure memory and I am quite proud. I think I'll start the chapter, now.**

Chapter 14: And Then There Were Four

"I'm so hungry!" complained Mido, clutching his stomach as he walked beside Malon. She was leading her horse along the dirt trail they followed through an empty cluster of trees.

"We'll eat soon," Malon promised.

"Do you even have food?" said Mido.

"No. I didn't bring any because I thought it would spoil."

"Not even some jam?"

"Jam?"

"I ad_ore _jam," Mido said again, rolling his eyes.

"No. I don't have jam, but I have money, and that's all it takes."

"But we're in the middle of _nowhere_! We can't just… we can't just magically _buy _stuff!"

"Yes, we can!" said Malon, standing upright and grinning. "Look!"

In the distance was the golden glow that came from a village. They rushed on up ahead to meet a cluster of houses and buildings gathered around a cobblestone street.

"Hallelujah!" cried Mido, hugging the nearest building. "Civilization!"

A few people milled about the small yet empty town, and two young children laughed and played around a wishing well.

"Where are we?" asked Mido. "Is this Kakariko? I don't think it can be, we haven't been going long enough."

"It's not," said Malon, looking around. "I've been to Kakariko- Kakariko has a windmill, and there aren't any streets. Let's go in here," she suggested.

It was a little tavern and inn, only two floors tall. A sign hung off of the front reading "The Dancing Flame", and little window-boxes hung off of the windows. Bright, inviting flowers sprung out from the soil in the boxes.

"It looks like a nice place," Mido said, and the two redheads proceeded to enter inside.

Mido screamed as a fork flew by his face and landed in the wall behind him.

"That'll show you to drink and not pay!" screamed a random man from across the room. A loud _thunk _noise was heard as a large, heavy man stood upon one of the tables and began to bellow loudly.

"_ARE WE HUMAN, OR ARE WE DANCERS! MY SIGN IS VITAL! MY HANDS ARE COLD! HOOOO-RAH!"_

"Good Goddesses," Malon whispered in horror. The man upon the table was none other than her own father, drunk as could be! He had never been quite this bad before.

Another man, equally large and heavy, stood up on the table with Talon, and the two began to square dance to Talon's singing.

"Is that the King!" Malon asked.

"King? What King?" asked Mido. "There's a king?"

"Yes…"

"But… I thought _I _was the leader!"

Malon groaned at the sight of her father and the King of Hyrule dancing. What could possibly prompt him to do such a thing?

Malon led Mido moodily to a table in the corner, where they sat down.

A waitress approached them and said, "Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

"Yes," Mido said, and he began to recite the entire menu out loud.

"Of course," said the waitress. "I'll be right back with your order."

"Mido!" cried Malon, "I don't have money for all of that!"

"I don't care! It's not like you were going to pay, anyway."

"_What_!"

"I figured that we were going to dine and dash. You don't strike me as the person who pays for things, anyhow. You're like a thief."

Malon's face fell. "What do you mean?"

"You've been so mean and careless through our entire journey so far," Mido complained. "You've been treating me like… like dirt."

"Mido," said Malon, as she realized the depth of his words. "I'm so… I'm so sorry. I didn't realize I was being terrible like that. I've just been so troubled, thinking about Link and Zelda and now my father…"

She looked at her father on the tabletop again.

Mido glanced up at the table. "…_that_… is your father?"

"Yes."

"Be glad that you look nothing alike."

Malon smiled.

The waitress returned with a large tray holding turkey, chicken, pork, corn, potatoes, carrots, gravy, apples, grapes, and an apple pie.

"I can't believe you ordered all of this food!" cried Malon. "How will we ever finish it all!"

The platter was cleared in a matter of minutes.

"I have to admit," said Malon. "You were right. I was absolutely starving."

"Hello, me too!" cried Mido.

"I don't know _how _we're going to pay," Malon sighed. The ground seemed to vibrate as her father fell off of the table and began to sleep.

"At this point," Malon continued, "we might as well stay the night."

"Oh, so you can't pay for food, but you can pay for a room?"

"No, but if we stay the night, we won't have to pay for anything until morning. I suppose, and I don't feel good doing this, that we can sneak out sometime during the night."

"Sounds like a plan," said Mido as the waitress returned to take the tray and clear the table.

"Where can we get a key to stay the night?" asked Malon.

"Up front," the waitress replied.

Malon and Mido got out of their seats and headed to the front of the tavern, where they located a man at a desk.

"Could we have a room upstairs?" asked Malon, trying not to look guilty.

"Just one?"

"Yes."

The man looked at his list of empty rooms and grimaced.

"We're out of rooms, darling. I suppose you could share the Master Suite with somebody, though, if you got their permission."

"Who has that?" asked Malon.

"What! I ain't sharing no room!" Mido complained, but Malon wasn't listening.

"The King of Hyrule, apparently," said the man. "And a traveler named Talon. Why?"

Malon's eyes widened. What on Din's Red Earth was her father doing sharing an Inn room with the King of Hyrule?

Awkward.

And then, she realized. Talon was out looking for her, and the King was probably out looking for Link. They had teamed up…

"We'll take it," Malon said automatically.

"_What_! No!" cried Mido, but Malon was already dragging him upstairs to the room.

…

The King and Talon eventually appeared in the room, far more sober than before. Malon slept in one of the six beds, Mido in another.

"What is this?" said the King.

Malon opened her eyes and sat up from her false slumber, but Mido slept on.

"MALON!" cried Talon, springing forward with joy. He embraced his daughter lovingly.

"Dad," said Malon, "you smell terrible. Like sweat. Fix that, will you?"

"You smell like sweat, too," said Talon. He released his daughter.

"You found your daughter," King Harkinian stated dismally.

"Yes," said Talon, grinning. He sat down on one of the beds and smiled.

"You still must help me find mine. We have teamed up, remember? I can't let Zelda get herself killed…"

"What?" said Malon.

"Princess Zelda," Talon began, "has done precisely the same thing as you. Gone out to find Link and save him, that is!"

Malon sat in thought for a moment. So, Zelda… _wasn't_… sitting around the tea table with her many princes. She was out in Hyrule, just as grimy as any other traveler.

Lord, she'd messed up.

"I told you it was a good idea to come into the tavern," said Talon.

"Yes, I suppose," said the King. "But it seems that your daughter is the one that did all of the work. She found us."

"It's true," Malon said. "You were singing- what was that you were singing?"

"A little tune my butler taught me," said the King. "It's called 'Human'. Aw, Ferris, he always listened to the good stuff!"

"Anyway," said Malon, "you haven't done anything at all. If what you call adventuring involves every night in a tavern, you'll never find Zelda."

"What are you saying?" asked the King, very disturbed at the thought of his beautiful daughter in danger because he hadn't tried hard enough to save her.

"I'm _saying_," said Malon, "that you need somebody more responsible on your team."

"I _am _responsible!" argued the king. "I take care of an entire kingdom!"

"With a crew of advisors," Malon pointed out. "Let _me _be your Royal Advisor," she said. "We'll team up- the four of us-" she glanced at the sleeping Mido- "and together we can save Link and Zelda easily!"

It may have been the thought of his daughter in danger, or the perils ahead, or just the late hour and the lingering effect of the alcohol that made the King finally nod.

"Yeah… okay."

And their alliance was formed.

**A/N: And that does it for chapter 14! I'm pretty glad that I continued. This chapter was probably my favorite so far. I like Malon more than Zelda because Malon is actually FLAWED. And she has cunning. ;)**

**And Mido… well, Mido will be Mido.**

**I inserted the promised references. Did you find them?**


	15. Songs, Water, and Songs about Water

**In celebration of the new month (and Molly's birthday), I have decided to update. Kiss it.**

**Chapter 15**

The Zora Princess sat upon her throne and swung her legs back and forth, singing a hymn to herself.

"To Faithful water, O Spirit of Calm, I brought life to my people, with you in my palm… To Faithful sky, light and azure… Arms of fire, so strong and so sure… To Faithful earth, stronger than man, you were the cradle where rivers once ran…"

There was a brilliant flash of light, and Ruto found herself losing her balance. She rolled off of the throne and landed in the water below.

"Ouch! Who goes there?"

"Ruto, it's me!"

The zora looked up and hooked eyes with a young, forest girl that had just appeared before her. She stood up and grimaced.

"Long time, no see, Saria."

Saria smiled forcibly. "By no means did I try to prevent our separation when we went back in time… nonetheless, the time has come for another meeting."

Ruto rolled her eyes and lounged back on her elbows, spitting a fountain of water from between her teeth.

"What's the problem?"

"Well," said Saria, "Hyrule's not as safe as it once was… something's here that shouldn't be, and I need to get rid of it."

"And why would I want to help _you_?" asked Ruto.

"You might not want to help _me_, but I know somebody that you would absolutely love to lend a helping hand to."

Ruto raised her eyebrows. "Go on."

"Somebody you haven't seen in a good five years. Does the name 'Link' ring a bell?"

Ruto shot up, her eyes widening. "You've spoken with him?"

"On one occasion, yes."

"And did he say anything about me?"

A natural question, to be sure.

"No," replied Saria. "From what I've heard, he's lost his memory."

Ruto's heart sunk. "Oh…"

"But he's coming to visit you," Saria added.

"Really?"

"Yes. Quite soon, actually. Do you remember anything that Rauru told you about a mirror?"

Ruto nodded. "Yes, I do. Back when Ganondorf was still alive, before we traced back time and lost everything… I mean… ugh, never mind. What's your point?"

"Go to that mirror."

"And do what?"

"Link will appear and ask you for a blessing. You _must_ give it to him, even if you lose all desire to help him or his cause."

Ruto's brown furrowed. "How could I ever lose that desire?"

"Do you like ugly things?" asked Saria suddenly.

"No, of course not. Why are you changing the subject all of a sudden?"

"Oh, no reason," said Saria coolly.

"You're alluding to something. What are you saying?" asked Ruto.

"You'll find out soon enough. Just remember- go to the mirror and help Link. After that's done, make sure that he gives you the name of the next sage. Once Link has left, deliver the message that I've just delivered to you to that sage. Understand?"

"I'm not dumb," she answered angrily. "Now get out of here, acorn girl."

Saria curled her upper lip in disgust. "Believe me, I'm glad to."

Another flash of light, and Saria had gone.

"Thinking she can steal Link from me," muttered Ruto, rolling her eyes. "What a little wretch."

….

Link watched wordlessly as Zelda pulled the scarf from her head, shook the braid out of her hair, and began washing it in a little forest creek with her head tipped upside-down.

Link was hot and sweaty from hiking for several hours up a steep hill, and had finally taken the chance to sit back on a forest stump and catch his breath. Zelda, being a princess, had naturally decided to clean herself up instead of sitting in her own bodily waste.

She finished washing and flipped her hair back, wringing it out onto the grass. As she did so, a ladybug flew by and landed on a flower next to Link's foot.

It died.

Angrily, Link kicked the ground, sending clumps of grass and dirt flying.

"How come," he muttered, "I don't kill the plants, but the animals all die when they go near me?"

"Be_cause_," said Zelda from her spot by the creek, "now that you have the Blessing of Forest, you are one with the entire forest, and the forest is one with you. The ladybug, however, isn't part of the forest."

"What is it a part of, then, that it can't stand me?"

Zelda turned to him and smiled sadly. "You have to understand the effect that you have on people, Link. You don't try to have it; it's just the dark magic that follows you around. You see, it's hard to be around you, Link. It makes people feel sadder than they should. It especially affects me, because I have the Triforce and I'm more sensitive to magic than most people."

"And what's your point?"

"My point, Link, is that small animals can't stand this sensation, and it kills them."

"And how do I fix this?"

"You get the Blessing of Spirit. That will get rid of the dark magic."

"How soon can I do that?"

"As soon as we figure out where the mirror is."

Link sat and pondered for a few minutes before asking, "Where do we go next, then?"

"Lake Hylia," answered his ranger friend. "Where we get the Blessing of Water. When we get that, you'll be able to see your reflection again."

Link smiled a half smile. "Sometimes I can see it," he claimed. "If I really, really try, I can see it. But I need to put my whole heart into it."

He crawled forward to the stream and kneeled beside it, looking into its depths.

"Is it there?" asked Zelda.

Link sighed. "No."

"It will be someday."

"Maybe it's better that it's not," he muttered, twirling his finger through his black hair.

"Not necessarily," said Zelda.

"Stop trying to console me!" he exclaimed. "You try to act like you understand, but… you don't. You can't understand. You've lost friends, and you've lost family, but you've never lost yourself."

"You're right," she said. "I haven't. Whenever I feel that I'm drifting too far away from myself, I take the chance to reel my soul back in."

She glanced at the sun, which was starting to descend behind the horizon.

"I'll tell you what—I'll go find us some firewood. Why don't you stay here and meditate, and I'll be back in a half hour or so… sound like a plan?"

"Yes," said Link. "I suppose so."

She wrapped the scarf around her face again, grabbed her bow from a nearby tree, and disappeared into the shrubs surrounding the stream.

Link dipped his hand back into the water. Even though the water was motionless around him, he could still feel the coolness of it against his skin. Unable to resist, he pulled off his shoes, hat, and weapons, laid them on the bank of the creek, and dove in.

His tunic billowed out around him like a parachute as he went under. He drew his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around him, allowing him to sink to the bottom.

He sat there for awhile, never really feeling the need to breathe. He watched the water move around him and the small fish and tadpoles swim past. They, at least, had the willpower to live.

He closed his eyes and worked on clearing his mind.

After several minutes, he could feel the current washing away his anger and distress. He allowed all feelings of remorse and hatred leave his body, until he was numb of emotion.

So this was peace. It was the best feeling anybody could ask for. He was free of pain, free of worry, and free of desire.

For the first time, he felt truly enlightened.

He could almost hear a voice starting to sing in his head. It was a woman's voice, and it was hauntingly beautiful.

"_To Faithful water,_

_O Spirit of Calm, _

_I brought life to my people, _

_With you in my palm._

_To Faithful sky, _

_Light and azure,_

_To arms of fire,_

_So strong and so sure._

_Faithful earth, _

_Stronger than man, _

_You were the cradle _

_Where rivers once ran_

_I pledge to fire and sky,_

_And I pledge to the earth_

_And to water, to freedom, to_

_Life and rebirth."_

Who was that singing? It was an eerie hymn, to be sure.

And yet, Link realized, it didn't matter where the voice came from. It didn't matter who was singing, only what they were singing of.

_To water, to freedom, to life and rebirth_.

Water brought rebirth, Link realized. Here, in the stream, Link could be free from the harness of his sins. Water was a healing gift from the goddesses. Suddenly, Link was all the more anxious to reach the next mirror.

This sudden desire sank into the pit of his stomach, and out of nowhere, he could feel his lungs burning with the need to breathe. Desire had broken his concentration.

He sprang to the surface and inhaled deeply, crawling onto the riverbank and laying flat on his stomach. He grabbed at clumps of grass with his sopping wet hands and breathed over and over, taking in the sweet scent of pine and woodland wildlife.

He was here for awhile, doing nothing but breathing and thinking, until he heard footsteps come out from the shrubbery.

"Link… are you quite alright?"

"I'm all right, yeah."

He could hear Zelda set down the firewood and begin to arrange it into a neat little pile. Before long, she had begun a neat little flame that let off a soft glow into the quickly darkening forest.

"Link, you're going to freeze to death all wet like that. Come sit near the fire and warm up."

He smiled and rolled over to the fire, where he sat down Indian style across from Zelda.

"I won't even ask how you got all wet," she said, grinning. "Did you fall into the creek?"

"Actually," he said, "I did it quite on purpose." He added, somewhat reluctantly, "I really want to get to that next mirror as quickly as possible."

"And why's that?" asked Zelda.

"I feel like water is a healing force," he said. "I think it would lend me courage."

"Perhaps," she said. "I guess that means we'll have to move quickly, then."

Though Link was hesitant to ask the next question, he was dying to know the answer. "Zelda…" he began.

"Yes, Link?"

"Why can't you just play that song again to warp us?" he asked. "You did it the first time… I know it was hard for you, but if you'd like, you could teach it to me. I'll play it, I can stand the pain if it will move us around faster. Not to be impatient."

"Well," said Zelda, poking the fire with a stick. "I actually can't play that song again."

Link's heart fell. "Why not?"

"I could tell you a story about it," she claimed. "It rests on a fine line between myth and legend. But it's a little… grown up. Can you handle it?"

Link smirked. "I'm seven years older than I look, you know."

"True, true," she said. "Well, here goes nothing… it took place several hundred years ago. There was a young girl, about my age, named Cedany. She had been raised in a very religious family, and spent her life devoted to the goddesses. It was expected by her family that she would become a nun, and at the age of thirteen, they sent her to be educated at a monastery. The monastery trained both men and women to serve the goddesses… Link, are you all right?"

"Yeah," he muttered, drawing circles in the dirt with his finger. "It was just… sometimes, I feel a shadow coming over me. It's gone now."

"Oh," said Zelda, wondering what could have brought on the minute attack. "As I was saying, the monastery was open to both men and women. There was a young monk studying there at the time with a name that you may recognize… Reynaldo?"

Link sat up straighter. "The hero with the mirrors…" he realized.

"Exactly," said Zelda. "Well, Reynaldo and Cedany met one day in the gardens. They became fast friends, and very soon afterwards, lovers. They were hopelessly devoted to one another. In their blissful state, they lost all attachment to the goddesses. The high priests and nuns were terribly ashamed of the young lovers, and told them that if they didn't say goodbye to each other, then they would have to say goodbye to the monastery and their religious life. Reynaldo made the decision to leave the monastery, but Cedany was conflicted. She knew that if she left, she would disappoint her family. She didn't know that she was ready to leave that all behind… eventually, Reynaldo convinced her to run away with him. The night before their departure, the goddesses appeared in Reynaldo's dream to give him a warning. They told him that if he brought Cedany from the monastery, they would kill her. He disregarded this final warning, however, and they left early the next morning. Cedany was struck with a sudden ailment, and died that same day.

"Reynaldo," Zelda continued, "was distraught. After realizing what he had done to his beloved, he made a promise to give himself to the goddesses. In turn, they promised him that he could be with Cedany in the afterlife. From that day forward, he sought the guidance of the sages and kept Hyrule safe for the goddesses and Cedany. He trained to be a hero, and would eventually be remembered as one.

He died an early death- only three years after the death of Cedany. He was buried beside her in Kakariko Graveyard at the age of twenty-two."

"Where is this story leading?" asked Link. "I still haven't learned a thing about the song."

"You will in a second," Zelda said. "You see, the night before they left, Cedany wrote a letter to the nuns in the monastery. She said she was sorry for all that she had done and all that she was going to do, but she saw no other way around it. She was very nervous, and said in the letter that she remembered a hymn they had taught her about hope and patience. She sang it all throughout the night in a desperate call for the goddesses for help. There was a part of her that knew she didn't have much longer to live, and she only wanted their blessings and forgiveness.

Reynaldo heard and remembered this song, even after her death, and had it written on her tombstone. As the residents were preparing Cedany's body for burial, they realized something interesting- Cedany was pregnant. Though they were sad for the loss of the unborn child, they buried Cedany's body anyway. Just as they were getting ready to cover her in earth, a small ball of light came out from her mouth. It was singing the same song that Cedany had been singing the night before she died, but the voice was higher and did not sound quite as… human. Every mourner realized at once that this must have been the soul of the baby, which had barely begun developing at all. It hung in the air for a moment, leaving every attendant awestruck, and then floated off into the forest. It was never seen again.

"That song that Cedany and her child sung," Zelda finished, "is the same tune that I played on the Ocarina. The song has become a traditional call to the goddesses to ready the world for a certain task- to do something evil for a good cause. Cedany was abandoning the goddesses so that she could raise her child in freedom. Likewise, the sages and I are helping you, an evil dweller of the wrong realm, regain yourself so that you can do good again. The song transported us to Death Mountain because it was the closest point to the Heavens- that way, the goddesses could hear us clearly and know our cause. As we speak, Nayru, Din, and Farore are preparing the world for our quest. Everything that happens now is the will of the Gods."

Zelda finished her story and sighed deeply, laying down on the ground and closing her eyes.

"So that's why you wouldn't tell the story in the Kokiri forest," said Link. "You didn't want them hearing such a sad tale…"

"No, Link. It's not a sad tale. It's a tale of hope." She sat up again, and they linked eyes. "Even though Cedany and her family were lost to the world, we have been given something more important- a way to regain our beloved hero."

She smiled and took his hand. An instant shock of pain went through their bodies, but they held on anyway.

Zelda gave Link hope, too, but he didn't say that. He only thought about the trials ahead, and how he knew he would able to face every single one with Zelda by his side.

With his hand still holding Zelda's, Link crawled back to the creek and gazed in.

A pair of crimson eyes stared right back.

**A/N: And there you have it. The chapter is finished. Several months overdue, and about a thousand words overdone. I'll keep it shorter next time.**

**Nonetheless, I've finished the exposition. Everything has pretty much shown up that will be important later… *winkwink***

**TJ out, b*****s!**


	16. Desperate Measures 1 of 2

**COLLEEN EXPLAINS HERSELF**

** This is chapter sixteen. I'm going to be splitting it into two parts because it's too long and I don't like to have chapters over 2000 words or so. Additionally, if this entire story was a series of episodes in a television show, this chapter would kind of mark the beginning of season 2. It's going to take a whole new turn from here, new characters and secrets revealed. These are things that I've had in the making for awhile, and this chapter is like the wine bottle that you smash the living crap out of a ship with for good luck. **

_Chapter Sixteen, part 1_

"So, Princess, the reason that we can't warp using your divine song is because if we did, the goddesses would release holy heck on us and the world would enter an age of chaos?"

"Well," Zelda said, answering Link's question, "yes. The first time I used it, it was to notify the gods that the world needed to be ready for our quest. It lets them know that they must set the stage, if you please. They put down the mirrors, they ready the sages, and they construct nature in a way that will let our adventure play out. Of course, they are not necessarily on our side. They are letting time run its course through the setting they choose, and allowing each side of the battle to have its strengths and its weaknesses."

"And if you played it twice…?"

"The gods would repeat it, and nature would run wild."

"I see," said Link. "I'm glad that we tied up those loose ends." He had a slight edge to his voice.

Zelda looked at him for a moment. "Are you okay, Link? You've been acting a little… _sardonic… _today."

Link looked surprised. "Um- yeah, I guess—"

So he hadn't been trying to be rude. It was just happening.

"Maybe it's just because it's getting late," she offered, and Link nodded a little too quickly.

"Yeah, maybe," he said. There was no real honest thought in any of it, though, and both people were thinking the same thing.

_Do they know something…?_

…

The group consisting of a King, a rancher, a young boy, and a young woman had passed through four villages, had trashed four taverns, had slept in four inns, and had made four different reputations for themselves by the time that a week had passed. As they made their way out to Kakariko Village, the Princess and the Swordsman were on their way to Lake Hylia. Both groups moved at their quickest pace in starkly different directions.

The King and his crew were in Hyrule field one night as the sun set, and, having no village around to settle in, decided to make a camp. The King and Talon had become quite the pair, making jokes and telling stories as if they'd been friends for years. Malon and Mido, however, weren't hitting it off quite as well. Ever since the alliance with Talon and Harkinian, Malon and Company were having a difficult time bonding. There was still that bit of discomfort between Malon and her father. Ever since the reunion of father and daughter, there had been those tiny things here and there that were hurting their relationship. First, there was the fact that when Malon had first seen Talon in that tavern, he had not given off the most favorable impression. He had horribly embarrassed himself _and _his daughter, but was (he admitted) too frightened to apologize. Secondly, there was the conflict that was becoming harder and harder for Malon to face as she went on. And that conflict was the fifty-percent chance that her crush on Link was unrequited. Not to mention that her obvious jealousy of Zelda was taking place right under the king's nose. Who, to bring up the matter, was becoming a bit too chummy with Talon, and likewise beginning to lose his impression of power and authority.

And lastly, of course, was the fact that she had run away from home without saying a word. _I could have died, and he wouldn't even have known…_

The fire had been made, the food and water supply brought out, and the extra layers of clothes laid down as a mattress. Talon and Harkinian sat in front of the fire having a right old chat, and Mido sat a ways behind them, nibbling on a slice of thin Kokiri bread. Malon was on the other side of the fire completely, her eyes stinging as she ate and stared at the mesmerizing flames. She grew into her own world completely as all other sounds dulled. She could hear her heart beating like a clock—tick… tock… tick… tock…

It was then that she heard it. They _all _heard it, and jumped to their feet. It was the stamping of hooves, signaling the arrival of a rider. Food clattered to the ground as the entire company leapt to their feet, pulling out whatever weapons they possessed and posing into defensive positions. The volume of the sound increased until they could see the approaching rider: a man on a dark red horse. As he came closer, they realized that he was of stocky build, appearing to be an older gentleman. Defense decreased a little as the horse steadied to a trot and eventually stopped before them.

"Well, hello," said the man, who by all appearances seemed to be a generally happy person. "I'm sorry we have to meet like this. Settle down, I mean no harm!"

Swords were again sheathed, but Malon still kept a firm grip on the bow as she lowered it.

The man hopped off of his horse, said horse appearing happy to be relieved of the rather heavy gentleman. He offered his hand to Talon.

"The name's Mutoh."

"Talon," answered the rancher, shaking Mutoh's hand.

Mutoh turned to the king and appeared a bit shocked. "Your Highness! A pleasure—"

"No need for formalities," answered Harkinian, raising a hand in protest.

Mutoh waved cheerily to Malon and Mido, and then said, "Are you fellows going somewhere?"

"On our way to Ka—oof!"

Talon, who had been speaking, had been elbowed in the stomach by his daughter.

"What?" he cried. "It's not like we're on secret business."

"But _he _might be," Malon finally said. She took a defiant step forward. "What are you up to, anyway?" she asked.

Mutoh grinned. "I'm on my way back to Kakariko! I'm head of the carpenters there, you see, and we've been working on a new building. Are you travelers tired? Perhaps you should come with me and rest up for a bit."

"Yes! Yes yes yes—" cried Mido, hopping up and down on nimble tip-toe.

Malon put a hand on Mido's head and forced him to stop jumping.

"Can we trust you?" she asked Mutoh.

"I only think in your best interest. You look worn and weary… and Kakariko isn't so far from here. You'll be happy there… you can rest up, eat, and turn those frowns upside-down! I promise I'm not trying to lure you in…"

"Actually," said Talon, grinning widely, "that's really where we were headed… and you say it isn't so far? I take that to mean that we're close?"

"Pretty close," said Mutoh, grinning. "We actually have to cross the Zora River first, so I'd recommend getting some rest. As close as we are, Hyrule is a vast country, and we still have leagues yet to go! Days of travel."

"Thank the Goddesses," Mido muttered under his breath, rolling out the Kokiri leaf that was bigger than he was and crawling beneath it. He promptly began to snore.

The rest of the camp settled down to sleep.

…**..**

Talon kept waking up throughout the night. He kept hearing frogs croak and crickets chirp, and the breeze kept the tall grass of Hyrule Field blowing constantly around him. He knew it was all a part of nature, and yet could not shake off the feeling that somebody was nearby. So he pulled his daughter closer to him and tried to fall back to sleep.

Despite his efforts, he kept reawakening. He finally stood up quietly, lit one of Mido's deku sticks, and went on patrol. Nothing seemed to be out of place—everybody was accounted for, along with their stuff. Why, then, did he feel so on edge?

He jumped when Harkinian mumbled about a _Master Sword _something or other, and, while trying to calm down, spoke to himself.

"Okay, Talon… everything's all right. You're not scared. You're not scared… yes, you are scared! Why are you scared?"

"Probably because you're so far from home," said a voice.

Talon nodded casually. "You're probably right… Jeepers!" he blubbered, whirling around to find the source of the voice. He shrieked when he saw it—it was just a heap of dirty, decaying bones held together in the shape of a child's skeleton by some sort of force. The eyes glowed red in their sunken sockets. The creature sported a nasty, vivacious smile.

Talon unsheathed his small knife. "Wh-what do you want?" he exclaimed in a hushed tone.

"To kill you, and take your flesh and cover my bones!" answered the aggressive skeleton.

"That's sick and disgusting," Talon said frankly.

"Do not anger me, or this will hurt even more."

"Up!" yelled Talon in fright. "Up, everyone up!"

The company stirred and awoke, alert and at their feet in seconds. Skeletons began popping out of the ground by the twos, fives, and tens.

"What are these hideous creatures?" howled Mido at the top of his lungs.

"Stalchildren!" Harkinian replied.

"No thank you!" Mido cried, burying himself under the protection of his leaf. Malon went to nock an arrow onto her bow at the same time that Mutoh pulled an axe from the luggage his horse was carrying. The stalchildren and the journeyers both went at each other in rage and defense, vowing to destroy the other side.

It wasn't slow paced at all—the stalchildren were hostile and energetic, filled with a longing for the gain of human flesh and senses again. The travelers, on the other hand, were proud and angry. They would not—nay, _could _not—be defeated by a group of half-dead buccaneers.

And so they fought them off, each in their own way.

Mutoh took on five at a time, using his axe in one hand and a shovel in the other to provide with extra damage to an opponent. He was having no trouble at all, whereas the King and Talon were not doing quite as well. They eventually joined forces and took on ten at a time.

Malon, however, was without aid in the battle. She had never been caught up in a fight before, and was surprised at the energy of it. And then she felt something tug at her ankle, and why was the ground so close to her face…?

The faint sound of a rooster crowed in the distance, and suddenly the stalchildren disappeared just as quickly as they had come.

Talon and Harkinian looked at each other.

"They come at night, but daylight is forbidden to them," the king explained to Talon. "The ruffians used to cause trouble at dark, so the goddesses stole their flesh. Now, they go around at night looking for a human host… damned little creatures, we're not safe out in the open like this." He turned to Mutoh. "How far did you say Kakariko was again?"

"Too far," said Mutoh. "If we go quickly, we can make it in a week's time."

There came a scream of fright from the other end of the site. The three men whirled around and shouted.

"What? What is it?" cried the king, thoughts of Gerudo Thieves, wild horses, keese and wizrobes and vicious Gorons flooding his anxious mind.

But something worse met his sight.

"It's Malon! She's hurt!" yelled Mido over and over.

The company was at his side without a second to spare.

"What the Dark World happened?" cried Talon, suddenly enthralled with rage.

"She got stabbed!" cried Mido. "I was gonna come out and fight, but Malon tripped over me and fell onto someone's knife… I think she got hit in the hip or something."

"This is an outrage!" cried the King angrily. "Think of all the things that could be out to get Zelda right now—"

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT YOUR BLOODY DAUGHTER!" howled Talon, cradling Malon's unconscious body in his arms. Sure enough, there was a wound in the side of her left hip. "This is about _my _daughter! She has been stabbed. SHE HAS BEEN STABBED!"

"I'll handle this," said Mutoh, stepping forward. "I'll bring her to Kakariko on horseback—I can make it within the day. If I ride hard, I'll have her there by dawn—my nephew is the apothecary there, he has all sorts of potions and medicines. I promise you, she _will _live."

"I can trust you?" said Talon pathetically, on the verge of tears.

"You have my word," Mutoh replied sincerely. Reluctantly, Talon handed over Malon's frail body, which was subsequently strapped to the saddle of his horse. The animal set off immediately at a speed that could make any good rancher jealous.

"_Be swift_," grunted Mutoh to the northbound horse. "We don't have much time to spare!"

**To Be Continued…**


	17. Desperate Measures 2 of 2

_Chapter 16, Part 2_

"Have you told him yet?"

Zelda leapt to her feet and had her knife out in seconds. It was still night time—the stars were still twinkling above, and the moon was only halfway across the sky.

"Settle down, Princess, it's only me!"

It was Impa who had spoken. She was kneeling beside the spot where Zelda had been deeply asleep only seconds before, looking up at the Princess with an amused smirk on her face.

"Oh… Impa, you scared me half to death."

"Well, hold on to that other half, we can't lose our precious Zelda, now…"

There was a brief moment of awkward silence, and then Zelda collapsed into Impa's arms. She didn't cry, or even give off the slightest sense of self-pity. She just felt safe and warm in Impa's embrace.

"There there, Zelda…"

Despite her longing to snuggle in closer towards Impa, Zelda ended the embrace. Impa was here to talk business. She could tell by the look on her face.

"What was that?" asked Zelda.

"Have you told him?" repeated Impa, jerking her thumb in the direction of Link. He was sprawled face-down on the ground, snoring quietly and flailing his limbs every now and then. Zelda suspected he was dreaming of cuccos.

There was a twinge of guilt in Zelda's eyes as she answered, "No, I haven't."

Impa sighed. "Just because you're afraid of hurting him—"

"—or freaking him out—"

"—doesn't mean that it's something you can so easily keep to yourself." Impa bowed her head slowly. "Zelda, you know that I trust you and all of your decisions, but you cannot continue this journey with nothing but lies. You need to tell him the truth, and you need to do it soon."

The princess paused, and then gave a single nod. "I will tell him," she said. "I promise. I don't want him finding out the wrong way."

"There's a good lass," said Impa. "But that's not all. We also have to discuss the subject of the mirrors."

"I'll have Ruto deliver the message after Link gets her blessing," said Zelda.

"That's what I'm afraid of—the _after_. Zelda, I don't think that delivering messages through a chain is the best idea. Something could go wrong—Link could come upon a mirror when a sage isn't there yet, or a sage could choose to not approach his mirror if they are afraid of what Link has become… I think that the sages must be notified to take their stations at the same time. That way, they will not be lacking any knowledge. It seems, to me, to be the most proactive approach. The key here is planning, thinking ahead… That's why I will be going to my mirror directly after our conversation here."

Zelda nodded. "You're right, Impa… the sages should be taking their positions now, if they haven't already. Can you notify them? There must be a way."

"I will find one," Impa promised. She leaned in close to Zelda. "Your Highness, there is a war coming. I can feel it."

There was an unspoken understanding between the two. Impa pulled Zelda in close once more.

"I must go now, little one. I will not see you for awhile yet."

"I'll miss you, Impa," said the princess. "But I'll never say goodbye. I love you."

Impa pulled away and departed in a flash of light and the _pop _of a deku nut.

Link groaned from the other end of the camp, reminding Zelda of the brutal honesty that was about to either bring them closer together, or tear them apart.

…..

Mutoh was swift on a horse. He held Talon's daughter close, trying to shield her from the wind and oncoming rain, praying to the goddesses that she would live long enough to reach Kakariko Village. His horse bolted north, past the forest, past the ranch. Leagues passed like miles, miles like meters. The beast that carried Mutoh and Malon had never raced so quickly in its life, but it could sense that this was important—_really _important. So it pounded its muddy hooves into the firm earth just long enough to leave an imprint, and then keep moving.

The light of dawn was dim at first, fiery red against the blanket of clouds that would reach Mutoh by noon. The shadows cast were long, and seemed darker than usual. The sun slowly ascended through the sky, but before it could reach its vertex, a pack of stormy gray clouds took over the sky and it began to pour.

The rain came down like a thousand daggers, piercing the pair's skin with its sharp, freezing stab. Mutoh's eyes became bleary and his vision skewed. Leaves and dirt blew into his face like some sort of Goddess-Designed torture. But he could not give up. He had given his word to Talon that he would save Malon, and he was not stopping for anything—not even death—now.

….

The crow of a nearby cucoo awoke Link with a start. His eyes slammed open and he reached for his sword automatically, no process of thinking involved.

"It's just a cucco," Zelda assured him. She had started a meager fire in the center of camp. Link groaned and flopped back down onto the ground. He'd had a strange dream the previous night. He was walking in circles in that Mirror Chamber where he had been transformed. Endless circles. At one point, he approached the mirror, whole again in his dream. He grazed the surface with his fingertips, longing to return to the reflection _he _saw. In the mirror, he could see the blond hair, the blue eyes, the green tunic. But then his reflection shook its head and walked out of the sight of the mirror. And then he woke up to the cry of the cucco.

It crowed again. Link rose and groaned, taking Zelda's bow and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Where are you going?" asked Zelda skeptically.

"To shoot that damned bird off its perch," answered the Hero of Time with a yawn. "If we're lucky, it's eggs for breakfast." He disappeared through the thicket. Zelda smiled to herself and walked over to the creek, where she reached inside and pulled out a smooth, flat stone. She dried it off with her scarf and placed it atop the fire, balancing on a structure made of sticks. If Link managed to acquire the desired breakfast, the rock would work as a grill.

She was washing her hands in the creek when she heard an unpleasant rustle in the woods. Keeping her dagger close at hand, she listened for several seconds before something burst out of the forest screaming in terror. It was, to her mild amusement, Link. A dozen cuccos were at his heels. He jumped into the creek in an effort to escape, and the cuccos, frightened of the water, flew away frantically.

He peeked out of the water to find Zelda grinning. Flopping up onto the riverbank, he smiled triumphantly.

"I got the eggs," he stated smugly.

….

Mutoh knew the rest of this path like the back of his hand. All that was left to do was find the bridge crossing Zora's River, reach the other side, and ascend the staircase. Then, his nephew and his wife could heal Malon, and all would be well.

A flash of lightening lit up the dark sky as it struck something in the distance. Thunder shook Mutoh's bones as he prayed and prayed that this farm girl would be able to hold on long enough to reach the village.

The horse trampled over the muddy ground at unmatched speeds as Mutoh cradled the girl closer. She was beginning to let go. He could tell by her incoherent mumbling. His wife had been a healer all her life, and when people were giving up, they would always talk. They would whisper all of their passions and secrets.

They were running out of time. The storm was only increasing in violence and passion. The beast and its burden came to a halt at the Zora's River an hour after Malon had started her mumbling. Mutoh found, to his dismay, the bridge. And it was broken.

An entire chunk of it was missing. How could they cross the river now? There was no other way to Kakariko.

Trying to focus despite the storm, Mutoh came up with a solution. If it didn't work, then surely nothing would.

He promptly set straight to work. He pulled out his saw and cut a tree straight down. He then took the trunk and dragged it to the river, where he gathered all of his strength and let the log fall across the river to form a narrow bridge.

The horse would surely refuse to cross such a thing. He would have to go on foot.

Mutoh retrieved Malon from the saddle and slung her over his shoulders, leaving all of his equipment behind. He grew quickly tired. He was numb, and cold, and the village was still _so far away_. But he had a life to save, so he ran and ran and ran.

And then he saw it.

It was like he had won a thousand rupees when he saw that trusty staircase that led to his hometown.

He ascended it quickly. By now it was late evening, and by the time he had knocked desperately on his Medicine Shop's door, the storm had stopped. The door opened slowly, the occupant of the house wary of the visitor that had arrived so late at night.

"Anthony!" cried Mutoh. "This girl has been hurt! Can you save her?"

He thrust Malon into his handsome nephew's arms. The young apothecary looked at the girl for a second, and then at her wound.

"She's beautiful," said Anthony, despite the circumstances. Then he turned to his exhausted uncle. "I'll see what I can do."

….

The Princess and the Hero had eaten the eggs and were now resting. The atmosphere was quite calm, but as Zelda looked to the sky she noticed something unfortunate. The sphere was filling up with dark clouds.

"A storm's coming," she said. Link was lounging on the other side of camp, his eyes shut. He didn't respond.

"Link?" said Zelda again. "I said a storm's coming. We should build a shelter… Link?"

She got up and timidly extended her fingertips towards Link's cheek.

"Link…?"

As soon as she made contact with Link's skin, his crimson eyes shot open and he put his sword right to her throat and gave an unearthly scream.

_"I HAVE AWOKEN!" _he hissed. _"MY MIND HAS REGAINED ITS FORMER STRENGTH, AND NOW I WILL USE IT TO CONTROL YOU, LINK!"_

Suddenly, Link erupted into hundreds of Links, and they were everywhere. They were all screaming, now, at a frequency so high that it hurt Zelda's ears. Then, they all returned to one body, where time and space compressed itself for barely a second. A subsequent sonic boom rattled the entire forest and made Zelda stumble to regain her balance.

Gradually, Link closed his eyes and collapsed back against a tree. He used it as support for a minute or so. When he looked back at Zelda, he seemed entirely himself again. His eyes were no longer glazed over, and he had regained his usual poor posture.

"Please tell me you can explain what that was," Link pleaded. Zelda looked at him with her sapphire eyes that seemed to see right throughhim, and then sighed.

"Impa warned me that if I didn't tell you soon, this would happen… here, sit." She patted a spot on the grass beside her.

"No," protested Link. "_No_, I don't want to _sit_, I want to understand what on Din's Red Earth just happened to me, and why you've been keeping it a secret!"

Zelda looked heartbroken. "What just happened to you isn't supposed to be a secret to everybody, especially not to you… I was just afraid of frightening you. Link… when you looked into that mirror, when you got pulled in—it wasn't just making you look like Dark Link. It turned you _into _him. You… both of you, you're one and the same. You were merged together. It's why you can only see your reflection when you try, and why you feel those waves of darkness. It's why you lost your memories… you _are _Dark Link. And _he _is _you_."

Now Link knew that he had to sit, for his legs had become very shaky and his heart rate seemed to pick up a little too quickly. He collapsed to the ground and leaned against a tree, watching Zelda with wide, fearful eyes.

"S-start at the beginning," he requested, so Zelda nodded.

"I don't know who put it there, but that mirror was set up as a plot. When you drew the Master Sword for the first time, you were only a child. You were still fully innocent. And to be thrust into the future so suddenly—well, you were still a child, but in the body of an adult. You still had the innocence of childhood, and- therefore- your evil half had never become one with you. It became its own independent being; it thrived on guilt and sorrow. But living on its own… to be a shadow, and to have nothing but guilt, anger, sorrow, rage… that was no life to live. And it was furious.

"A parasite like that cannot just latch onto any host- it was yours, and could only attach itself to you. And the moment that you lost that innocence—that was when you killed Ganondorf—the shadow was ready to attack. But with the ocarina, I had us both travel back in time. The shadow had no time to attack. It was, again, without a host. And you were now a child once more, and the parasite could not cling to you."

"But I grew up," protested Link.

"The shadow was afraid," continued Zelda, "that the same thing would happen again. He didn't want a cycle in which he had to struggle to survive, only to be thrown back to the start line again. So, he hid in the mirror, with the help of somebody else."

"The woman…" muttered Link.

"My thoughts exactly," answered Zelda. "As soon as you told me your- or, rather, the shadow's- memory, it all fell into place. He hid in that mirror and used a lure, so that you would be forced to come into contact with him. There was only one flaw…"

"Flaw? What was the flaw?" panicked Link.

"The flaw was that you had the Triforce."

"What about that changed Dark Link's plans?"

"Everything."

His concern only deepened. "Did it backfire?"

"Yes. Instead of him being the parasite, and you the host, _he _became the host, and _you _became the parasite. The Triforce gave you unbelievable power of god-like proportions, and in your hour of need, your conscious overthrew his conscious, and his body became _yours_. His soul fell into a slumber, and until a few minutes ago, had no effect on you except for those that could not be controlled. Link, he has awakened, and he is not happy. You may have control over the body, but he has control over the mind."

Link was full of worry. "Then he will speak to me… he will try and control me. His thoughts and mine will blend, until…"

"Until you are one being, like every other person. Link, unlike regular Hylians, you and your dark side are not meant to blend. You must always oppose him. _You can't let him in_. He has already tried to take over your mind. The waves of Darkness, the dying reflection…"

"…And the memory," Link finished. "That memory, the one I didn't recognize—Zelda, that was _his _memory!"

The princess nodded, confirming the connection. "The reason you lost your memory is because Dark Link took over the mind. If you want to get your memories back, then you need to learn how to block him out.

"From now on," she said, "you must be on your closest guard. Link, do not let him tempt you. He will try and destroy you from the _inside_."

Link nodded weakly, and after a few moments of silence, Zelda stood up and went to the other side of camp and grabbed her belongings.

"Let's get going before the storm hits and we're stuck here."

She hoisted the food and blankets, which were stored in bags made from the strong leaves of the Deku Tree (gifts from the Kokiri), over her shoulder. Link, in turn, slung his across his back.

"Zelda?" he called. "One more thing before we leave."

The princess turned around. "Yes, Link?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Zelda paused, and then answered: "I didn't want to hurt you."

Link nodded and then, after taking one last look back at the camp and the creek, swept the hair out of his eyes and trailed after Zelda towards their next destination.

Lake Hylia.

_A Word from your Author: _

_This chapter was not absurd enough. Oh, well. _

_Let me just sum things up, since the entire chap. 16 was over 5000 words long… _

_-Talon, Malon, King, Mido on way to Kakariko when Malon is injured._

_-Link is also Dark Link._

_-Malon has been put into the care of healers. One shows particular interest in Malon herself… hur hur hur…_

_-There is some SERIOUS SHIT going on with the mental connection between Link and DL. I don't understand it either._

_Close Regards,_

_Me._

_PS. I seriously need a beta. If someone __**(*EFFICIENT*)**__ would like to help out, just with proofreading and stuff, that would be great. _


	18. A Healing Village

_Chapter 17_

When Malon next awoke, it was to three smiling faces.

She didn't know where she was. The room was generally bright with several small windows on each wall. She was laying on a bed with cool, crisp sheets, and the door was propped open to let in the sweet summer air. She wanted to sleep longer, but there were other people here, and she would have to introduce herself properly.

"She's awake!" exclaimed one woman with excitement. She was tall and thin with short red hair and dark blue eyes. Her soft face was full of gentle caring and kindness.

By her side was a rather large woman with a lot of hair. She grinned and patted her white dog heartily.

Several yards away, leaning on the doorframe, was an exceptionally handsome young man. His brown hair fell past his chin and his blue eyes sparkled with happiness.

"I knew she'd make it!" cried the older woman. "I just knew it! She has a strong spirit, and a remarkable doctor! Good work, Anthony."

"Thank you, Mamamu Yan. It wasn't easy," said the man. He stood up straight and ambled over to Malon's bedside. "You were really hurt. What happened?"

This was the first time that somebody had addressed Malon since she had woken up, and she struggled to sit up.

"I got attacked by a monster in Hyrule Field," she answered. "It was in the south, near Lake Hylia."

"Wow," marveled the young man. "That's a long way. My uncle has never moved so quickly in his life!" He chuckled. "I'm Anthony. I own the Medicine Shop up near the Death Mountain Trail. This is Mamamu Yan to my left—this is her house. And across from me—" he pointed to the young woman with red hair— "is my cousin, Anju."

"Hello Anthony, Mamamu Yan, Anju… my name is Malon."

They smiled.

"Are you hungry?" asked Mamamu Yan.

"A little," Malon answered.

"Here! I'll get you some soup. Anju, help Malon sit up, prop her up on some pillows… Anthony, make yourself useful."

Anthony turned to Anju. "I'll go tell your parents that Malon's up."

And with that, he left.

Mamauyu Yan started mixing a concoction of strange foods on one end of the room while Anju helped Malon up on the other.

"So… that was your cousin? Anthony?" Malon asked Anju.

"Yes, he's… an interesting man. He owns the Medicine Shop. My mother mixes potions in a building next door. My father is Mutoh. I think you know him—he brought you all the way here on horseback."

"It was remarkable," said Malon.

Anju giggled. "Usually he's tough… bellowing out orders, telling his employees to man up. I was surprised he felt such a soft spot for you. Speaking of which—"

"See!" exclaimed an elderly woman as she limped into the house. "See, Anthony, I told you my blue potion would work! It's the _Ultimate _Potion!"

"I know, Aunt Dorothea," said Anthony as he followed Anju's mother into Mamamu Yan's house.

"It took a lot of work to fix you up right, my dear," said the old woman to Malon.

"What do you mean?" asked Malon.

"Soup's on!" said Mamamu Yan cheerfully, and Malon's question never got answered.

…

By the time noon rolled around, Malon was feeling hearty enough to go out for a walk. She was accompanied by Anju, and she was dying to get some questions answered.

"So…" Malon said to start it off.

"Yes?" asked Anju.

"Can you just clear some things up for me? I'm still confused."

"Of course."

"We're in Kakariko Village?"

"Yes."

"You live here?"

"I do."

"Anthony does, too?" asked Malon.

"He does."

"And he is your cousin?" Malon further inquired.

"Yes. Mutoh and Dorthea are my parents. I have a brother, too. His name is Grog. I haven't seen him in a long time, though."

"Anthony owns a medicine shop?"

"Yes."

"And he healed me?"

"He did."

"So he is a doctor?"

"He is certainly capable of it," answered Anju. "Any other questions? Because I have quite a few for you as well."

"Yes- when will I be able to leave town? I mean, it's wonderful here, but I have business to attend to."

"We—meaning the villagers and I—have already arranged that. You will be sharing Mamamu Yan's house for however long you choose to stay. Your clothes are filthy, though, so you are welcome to anything in my wardrobe. We will be happy to take care of you until whenever you are ready to leave."

"And my father?"

"Mutoh has informed me that the company with which you were traveling are all on their way. He has sent them a letter to let them know that you are well. Exactly when they will arrive, however, I am not certain."

"My possessions are all with them. Anju, I have no food."

"Mamamu Yan makes spectacular meals that she will share with you. She is a very hospitable woman—she is glad to take you in."

"You're all being very kind," said Malon. "I don't know how to thank you for all you have done."

"Malon, it has been our pleasure to take care of you." Anju rested her hand on Malon's shoulder. "You have been very, very brave. You deserve a little peace. We are begging you to accept our kindness. That would be more than enough."

Malon smiled.

"Now, allow me to ask the questions. What have you been up to? How far have you traveled? Why? And what on _earth _wounded you so badly?"

Malon still had many unanswered questions, but she knew that she could get the answers in time. So, she began to recount her adventures so far, but left out the parts about Link.

…

After the walk throughout the village, Anju threw open her wardrobe and gestured for Malon to take something.

"But they're yours," stated Malon bluntly.

"Oh, please," said Anju. "What's mine is yours. Take some of it to keep with you for now. And damn it, if you won't pick anything out yourself, I will for you."

Malon sighed in defeat and advanced toward the wardrobe. It was filled with shirts, skirts, dresses, vests, shoes… _everything_.

She picked out half a dozen dresses. They were all very plain—browns, reds, greens.

As she was moving some clothes out of her way, she saw something remarkable.

It was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. It was pearly gray, sleeveless, slim, and floor-length. It had black lace lining the bottom and a black sash, and it was shiny satin.

She fingered the dress, and it felt exactly as she imagined it would. The smooth, gorgeous fabric rippled like water in her palm.

"Do you like it?" asked Anju.

"More than anything," said Malon.

Anju smiled. "Would you like to have it?"

"No," sighed Malon. "It's too beautiful."

"So are you," Anju argued, but then she saw Malon shaking her head.

"I feel like I… recognize it from somewhere," said Malon before returning the dress to the closet. She picked up what she had chosen and put it into a sack. She threw in 2 pairs of stockings and 2 pairs of shoes, tossed it over her shoulder, and thanked Anju repeatedly before returning to Mamamu's house to put it all away.

By now, it was perhaps 2 o' clock. Malon crossed the little village with her sack thrown over her shoulder, and was close to Mamamu's house when she heard a voice calling her name.

It was Anthony, bounding in her direction. He came to a halt in front of her and gave a slight smile.

"Need a hand?" he asked.

"No, I'll be okay," answered Malon. Anju had called her cousin interesting. What did she mean? Anthony didn't look very interesting. He was handsome, yes. A little slim, perhaps twenty, with long hair and bronze skin. A loose white shirt and brown pants tucked into boots served as his attire. If anything, he looked a bit haphazard. But not interesting.

"Dinner is served at 6 o' clock tonight," he said. "The entire village eats together on Friday nights."

"Friday night? Holy Cow, I've been out that long?"

Anthony laughed. "Two days isn't that long. You were in critical condition. I honestly thought you were going to die."

Malon felt suddenly frightened. "It was that bad? How'd you do it?"

"With 4 fairies, the life energy of 3 cuccos and a cow, red potion, green potion, 2 more fairies, Ultimate Potion, and not much time to do it in." He grinned. "But it worked. You're here now, and that's what matters. Now, are you sure you don't need a hand carrying all of that?"

"I will be _fine_," she assured him. She noticed that his eyes sparkled when he smiled, just like Link's.

She had been so busy all day that saving Link hadn't really crossed her mind. And right now, it wasn't really on the top of her list either. Anju was right. What Malon needed now was time to heal and time to concentrate on her family. Kakariko was a healing village, a safe house for those who needed it. She was weary. Her friends were weary. The time spent here would be time for fixing the broken relations with her father.

She pulled out of her trance and noticed that Anthony was watching her intently.

"What? What is it?" Malon asked. Did she have some type of gross scar on her face? She hadn't looked in a mirror in ages.

"I was just wondering… has anyone ever told you that you have nice eyes?" Anthony asked. Was he sincere? He had to be. He wasn't laughing.

"Um- I guess—thank you, then."

She was going red. Why was she going red?

He smiled again, now, but it wasn't a wide grin. It was just a simple smile of pure kindness.

"Well, I guess I'll see you at dinner," said Malon.

"Guess so," answered Anthony. This moment really should not have been this awkward.

"See you around," Malon said, and then she darted inside of the house before he could say anything else to make her uncomfortable.

Perhaps—and this wasn't necessarily a good thing—perhaps, Anthony was rather interesting after all.

**This was a boring shmoring chapter of filler and garbage. I don't think I'll be returning to Link or the Princess for awhile yet. I have some really good chapters coming up with Anthony and Malon, though, so stay tuned… I guess… *tumbleweed rolls across the fandom***


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